Customer expectations are on the rise for e-commerce delivery
The number of packages showing up on doorsteps has been on a sharp and steady rise. According to the U.S. Census, online sales grew from $5Bln in 1998 to over $800Bln in 2021. But COVID-19 accelerated consumers' desire to buy things online and have them shipped to their house. The pandemic resulted in a 19% increase in e-commerce revenue between 2019 and 2020. And this revenue growth is expected to increase another 8% per year through 2024.
As customers grow accustomed to more products showing up on their doorstep, what are their new expectations? And how do shippers and carriers need to adjust to understand and meet these preferences? At Veho, we believe that the generation of e-commerce winners will be those companies who put the customer at the center of the delivery experience.
Mind the gap between the purchase and product experience
All brands know they need both a smooth online purchase experience to grow sales and a great product experience to keep customers coming back. But what the smartest brands realize is that investing in the delivery experience is just as important.
Customers want more than email updates when an item ships. They want an easy way to communicate about last minute changes (like “I need to change the shipping address”) or special instructions (“my gate code is 7789, put it behind the plant”).
Understanding and meeting a customer’s preferences for delivery is the capstone to a great purchase experience. And it sets customers up for a great first impression with the product. Of course, the converse is also true: a bad delivery experience undermines the purchase experience and leads to a bad first impression with the product!
The compounding benefits of an excellent delivery experience
Communication with the customer is the key to an excellent delivery experience. And successful communication saves both time and money, and increases customer brand loyalty. Here’s how we see this snowball effect play out at Veho:
Better tech means better communication: Customers like and respond to texts. Veho enables customers to communicate with shippers over text. 72% of customers receiving a package with Veho reply with a confirmation that their delivery information is correct. And 36% of those respondents leave detailed delivery instructions. We make it easy for customers to tell you what they want.
Better communication means successful deliveries: 99.9% of packages delivered with Veho arrive on time. Because we let customers tell carriers exactly what they want, it is easier for carriers to successfully complete the job.
Successful deliveries means fewer service calls: brands using Veho see up to a 10% reduction in WISMO (Where Is My Order) events because it’s easy for them to tell Veho where they want their order delivered. We also reduce fraudulent claims by giving customers & shippers the carriers tools to document the package’s arrival.
Fewer service calls means more customer repurchase: brands using Veho increase their customer repurchase rate by an average of 19.2%. If the delivery experience is great, customers are more likely to enjoy the product and come back for more.
Don’t ignore the gap between purchase experience and product experience! If delivery goes awry, it puts the product experience at risk and reduces likelihood of re-purchase.
