The Consequences of Poor Delivery Performance

 

 

 

 

 

Figures from the most recent Christmas shopping period show that delivery, and the concerns customers have about poor delivery, played a big part in where people chose to shop.  The JDA and Centiro Christmas Consumer Pulse report 2016 has revealed that almost a quarter of online Christmas shoppers ordered items earlier than planned due to delivery restrictions, and nearly 19% said they chose to shop in-store rather than online due to worries about the reliability of poor delivery. 

 

What do consumers want?

 

Retailers know nowadays that a winning delivery proposition is key to unlocking crucial competitive advantage, so it is fair to assume that a poor delivery service has the opposite effect.  Research in 2015 found that two thirds of the 3,000 adults questioned had brought goods from one retailer in preference to another because the delivery options were more appealing, with 49% saying they would never use a retailer again if they had a bad delivery experience.   In the same survey, 83% of people said they wanted a guaranteed delivery date. With next day delivery and Sunday deliveries now becoming the norm, businesses need to stay ahead of the trend and offer a wide-range of choice to customers to meet with daily demands.  Meanwhile, IMRG’s Consumer Home Delivery Review in 2016 said that access to an online order tracker is featured highly in the aspects which make delivery more convenient in the eyes of the consumer. The EPOD system allows customers to track their delivery – freeing them from the shackles of waiting in all day for an item which never arrives. Furthermore, retailers can offer a more reliable estimation of delivery times with systems which assist with route optimisation and vehicle resource management.  It’s clear that retailers understand what customers want from a quality delivery service. The Bridging the Delivery Gap report in 2016 questioned retail executives, who said that precision of delivery time had the biggest impact on brand sentiment. 

 

What more can be done?

 

Employing usage of a system such as EPOD provides many benefits to the customer. The online tracker means that purchasers have some degree of control over their own delivery. If barcodes are scanned, your customer will be able to track their product, order or document at any given time.  For today’s busy world, this is a real advantage and providing this facility over a retailer who offers a vague one week or all day delivery window is bound to encourage future custom.  The EPOD system also gives your customers confidence in the safety and security of their purchase, with the requirement for an electronic signature at delivery. This is particularly important regarding the purchase of big ticket items, where the customer has spent a significant amount of money. Having the assurance that they will know exactly who the parcel has been delivered to can increase the confidence that customers have in your business.