47% of shoppers prefer to buy gifts from smaller and growing retailers

Peak season represents a huge opportunity for growing online retailers to raise revenue and win new customers. But too many are struggling to keep up with ever-increasing expectations around the customer experience, warns nShift, the global leader in delivery and experience management (DMXM).

As shoppers continue to spend money online, they are keen to support growing ecommerce companies as well as the leading players. Some 47% of people prefer to buy gifts from smaller businesses.[1] With peak season - which includes Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas shopping – just around the corner, growing online retailers have the opportunity to claim their share of increased consumer spend. However, as people continue to expect more from the shopping experience, retailers can struggle to keep up.

nShift has released a list of five ways that growing ecommerce companies can make the most of peak season:

1. Scale up to meet demand – consumers won’t tolerate a late delivery. Retailers must ensure they have delivery capability to cope with busy periods. This typically means making use of multiple carrier companies
2. Provide the right range of delivery options – for many shoppers, speed is of the essence. Others would rather wait longer for a cheaper delivery. Providing a range of delivery options at checkout can increase conversions by 20%
3. Communicate throughout the delivery process – shoppers expect to receive regular updates on the status of their delivery. Because they are more likely to read these communications than they are other messages from the retailer, they act as a great opportunity to weave in product plugs or try and build brand loyalty with customers
4. Make the returns process clear – if it’s not clear how they can send something back, countless consumers simply won’t click the buy button in the first place. An easy-to-use digital returns interface can make it easier to convert returns into exchanges, protecting the retailer’s revenue
5. Create a greener last-mile – shoppers want to buy from brands that share their environmental values. Providing lower-emissions delivery options at checkout can increase conversions and build loyalty with ethical consumers

Mattias Gredenhag, CTO at nShift, said: “Creating the customer experience that shoppers demand requires running a sophisticated and joined-up delivery and post-purchase process. Too often, growing ecommerce companies fear that they lack the capacity to run what appears to be such a complicated range of processes.

“nShift’s DMXM solutions give growing retailers the ability to create a great joined-up delivery experience in a simple way. From checkout to returns, companies can manage each aspect of the process from one platform, ensuring a joined-up customer experience.”

DMXM enables retailers to offer outstanding customer experiences and increase operating efficiency. It enables retailers to:

• Grow beyond limits – with a library of 1000+ carriers, nShift enables retailers to expand internationally and offer more delivery choices to customers at checkout. This increases conversion rates
• Connect every stage of the customer journey, by offering the right delivery options at checkout (including popular zero-emissions and pick-up, drop-off deliveries), a superior tracking experience, and simple returns. This will maximize revenue retention
• Enable data-tight ecommerce, by combining data from carriers, logistics, and other business systems. DMXM brings this information together, helping retailers sharpen customer insights and break down internal silos. It will drive operational efficiency
• Out-perform competitors – whether by engaging with customers in new ways or increasing the throughput of deliveries and fulfillment teams. nShift invests five times more in research and development than its closest competitors. This helps retailers stay ahead of their competitors.

www.nShift.com

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[1] https://www.forbes.com/uk/advisor/business/small-business-statistics/