How Shipment Speeds Influence The Online Shopper

While a majority of the world still feels the pressure of the pandemic, in-person retail stores have taken a back seat to online shopping and e-tail. Not only has online shopping created the safest and most convenient way for consumers to purchase products, but it also allows them to get a more precise understanding of the products they’re buying as well. With the ability to research any retailer’s offerings more freely, customers can compare features of their products to other competitors, price check across all major retailers and get feedback from customer reviews prior to purchasing. These capabilities are what have allowed the online retailing industry to consistently thrive. As far as growth goes, throughout just 2019 alone, online retailing contributed to more than $3.5 trillion in sales globally, with just under 2 billion people shopping online for products and services.

One of the largest contributors to the statistics above is Amazon. This organization has truly revolutionized the way consumers look at an online retailing experience. This is largely in part due to Amazon’s depth of selection when it comes to their product offerings.  With over 12 million products, the majority of which are sold by third-party sellers, it’d be shocking if you browsed Amazon’s platform without finding something you’d be interested in buying. There certainly isn’t a shortage of people visiting the platform, either. More than 197 million people visit Amazon’s website every month. These numbers are having a large impact on other online retailers, though. Amazon isn’t necessarily running these smaller online retailers out of business, but rather setting a standard that many other organizations are unable to meet. For example, more shoppers now expect online brands to ship products faster than before, in part because of Amazon’s shipping options. A recent study found that 88% of shoppers say that their shopping experiences with Amazon make them expect faster shipping and delivery from other e-tailers, as well.

For many retailers that lack the same resources that Amazon possesses, this can be a disaster. As the expectations of online shoppers continue to grow, savvy e-tailers should search for alternative methods to keeping their customers happy. For example, one way to do this is by providing a shipment tracking portal on your website. Rather than linking customers to a shipment provider, having a branded on-site page for shipment tracking is a great way to improve brand recognition and customer experience all while keeping customers informed regarding their purchases and shipments. Another way to improve customer experience is by focusing on the convenience of your website. Avoid using any over-complicated user interface elements. Create landing pages that simplify the customer experience. Allow for billing and shipping information to be saved to a customer’s account for simplified repeat orders.

Finally, research has indicated that the cost and speed of shipping are highly influential factors in whether or not customers decide to purchase from any given website. Most customers desire products quickly, but don’t want to pay a premium for expedited shipping. Seven in ten customers would rather wait an extended amount of time for shipping if it means they don’t have to pay for it. This is to say that shipping costs are another large part of what influences purchases made on your website. Actively searching for ways to mitigate shipping costs, like employing an automated storage and retrieval system to better coordinate warehousing and transportation of these products is a great start.

Any organization hoping to form some competitive advantage in the online retail industry, be sure to take a moment to check out the infographic accompanying this post.

Author bio: John Hinchey is VP of Sales for Westfalia Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of logistics solutions for plants, warehouses and distribution centers. He has more than 20 years of experience in manufacturing and warehouse automation.