When ordering from our favorite retailers, we often don’t even stop to consider why they’re our favorite, or our reasons for picking them above alternative brands. It may be to do with the range of products, the online shopping platform and interface, or it could have something to do with their delivery services. More often than we may realize we choose retailers whose delivery services we trust, so that we know we’ll have a smooth process in receiving our parcels, with none of the complications of late or missed deliveries. Quality delivery helps build customer loyalty.
The graph below depicts the results of a survey of 1,000 people, conducted by nShift and IMRG— for the consumer home delivery report. We asked, ‘Have you or people in your household ever abandoned an online purchase at the checkout stage specifically because of delivery concerns or issues?’. In 2021, over half of respondents answered ‘yes’, meaning a significant rise from the year before. Many customers are worried about delivery, to the point that they’ve abandoned their baskets, therefore retailers are missing out on sales. In order to retain customers, it’s vital to provide a quality delivery experience, so that shoppers stay loyal, and don’t leave at the last minute.
Have you or people in your household ever abandoned an online purchase at the checkout stage specifically because of delivery concerns or issues?
(Source: Maru, nShift and IMRG Home Delivery Report)
On the positive side, the opposite works too; good delivery experiences mean that customers are more likely to order from retailers again, therefore retaining customers. In the same survey, we found out that consistently, between 60 - 80% of people, agree that good delivery experiences have directly encouraged them to order from a particular retailer again. This means that when retailers enact good quality, easy, and seamless delivery, customers are happy, and therefore continue to buy from the brand. Ways in which retailers might achieve this include using delivery management software, providing text and GPS updates, allocating timeslots, and offering a variety of delivery options in different price brackets.
Has a good delivery experience directly encouraged you or people in your household to order again from a particular retailer?
(Source: Maru, nShift and IMRG Home Delivery Report)
To conclude, we can see from our data that quality delivery directly correlates with whether or not a customer will come back to a retailer. Therefore, when looking to retain loyal customers, retailers must ensure they are offering premium services, and assuring the customer of the safety of their order. With the Carrier Performance report in nShift DeliveryHub, retailers can track whether their carriers are delivering on time, too early or too late.
