by Sean Sherwin-Smith, post-purchase product director at nShift
Retailers must provide a first-rate delivery experience, with the right last-mile delivery solutions, during peak
Shoppers expect a decent discount on Black Friday. They also demand a first-rate delivery experience. In fact, some 85% of consumers claim that they will switch to a different retailer if they are not happy with the way their purchase was shipped.[1]
But as things get busy, it can be tricky to maintain a seamless service. Over a third (34%) of vendors battle supply-chain problems during busy periods.[2]
Here are three ways that retailers can ensure they are ready to “go for gold” during peak season (which includes Black Friday, Single’s Day, the Christmas shopping season and New Year sales):
Learn lessons from summer success (and failure)
Did the summer sales season go as well as you had hoped? Were there aspects that could have gone better?
Our new report, “Learning from summer sales” explores how retailers can perfect their peak-season offer by applying lessons from June discounts.
Put the delivery experience, including ecommerce delivery tracking, at the heart of the customer journey
The delivery experience is not just a feat of logistics. It provides opportunities for vendors to build their brand with shoppers, upsell to customers and strengthen loyalty. But disjointed processes often leave boxes at one end of the spectrum and customer relationships at the other.
Customers increasingly expect more from the delivery experience. This includes regular updates on the status of their delivery and the ability to return items easily if they are not happy.
Treat deliveries and post-purchase as one, seamless experience
Delivery & experience management (DMXM) with nShift takes the core components of delivery management, such as a library of 1000+ carrier connections. And it combines them with customer-facing applications that manage checkout and returns interfaces and customer communications.
With DMXM, shipping and deliveries become customer experiences which surprise and delight shoppers, while reducing costs and unlocking efficiencies across warehouses and delivery teams. It helps make shopping easy and intuitive for customers, while yielding insights and intelligence to help retailers run a tighter business.
[1] https://www.ipsos.com/en/ecommerce-marketplaces-delivery-experience
[2] https://shorturl.at/ccVyt
Author
Sean Sherwin-Smith
Post-Purchase, CX, and Sustainability Product Director
With 30+ years in final mile technology, product and CX, Sean has a wealth of knowledge and first hand stories to share, helping retailers understand the psychological, commercial and operational advantages that can be created in the post purchase journey. From the very early days of eCommerce, he has helped and advised retailers and carriers how to keep customers engaged after they have clicked the buy button and convert them into loyal brand advocates.
