New research has found that consumers having strong views around delivery price, services and timeframes, however, retailers face challenges in meeting the increasing customer demands. The research showed that the biggest barriers to developing additional services for customers were cost and technology.
Further, a third of retailers were challenged by the complexity of additional delivery services and incredibly 29 per cent stated that partners were a barrier stopping them from offering new services to customers.
The research, which investigated how retailers are responding to the growing demands of the ecommerce consumer, and showed that retailers are facing some tough challenges in order to meet growing consumer expectations. Consumers are constantly looking for retailers to improve not just front of house processes but the whole delivery experience, which starts when they click on the website and finishes when they receive the goods.
The research revealed that as consumer demands place more pressure on the delivery processes of retailers, improved service offerings are needed. Offering distinctive, fit for purpose delivery services are vital to win customers’ hearts, minds and purses but it does require a close partnership approach.
Additionally retailers stated a particular desire to improve the transparency of the delivery, specifically improved tracking and update notifications. The research also uncovered interesting results around the appetite for Sunday and evening deliveries.
Control and clarity is paramount for today’s consumers and as such delivery plays a vital part in the process of meeting customer expectations. To achieve this there is a need for more partnerships and a more collaborative approach within the industry.
Indeed, when it comes to collaboration, Click and Collect also offers a huge opportunity for retailers and their carriers to work more closely together to improve the customer experience, especially since it can drive additional spend instore.
Matthew Robertson, Co-CEO at NetDespatch comments: “UK ecommerce sales continue to skyrocket. With consumers becoming ever more demanding however, retailers continue to work tirelessly to keep pace.
“Retailers must work closely with technology and delivery partners to ensure they are able offer the convenience and diversity of delivery options to their consumers in what is a highly competitive market. We’ve already spoken about 2017 as the year of collaboration and this whitepaper supports that view, as we continue the drive to meet consumer expectations and provide a seamless parcel delivery experience.
