As more and more retailers take the time to truly evolve their online offerings for their customers, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when their customers come to prefer the online shopping over the in-store shopping experience. Even some of the smallest retailers are able to benefit from the capabilities of online retail. The same goes for shoppers as online retail is the only way to safely and conveniently browse through countless amounts of products based on their unique features, prices and even other customer reviews without ever having to be present in the store that offers them. The one challenge that smaller retailers have when it comes to online retail is keeping up with industry standard delivery speeds. This post will detail this issue and provide suggestions to keep online retailers’ lead times at a minimum.
The main driving force of the online retailing industry is Amazon. Currently, Amazon and its third-party merchants offer more than 12 million unique products on its platform. This may seem like a lot, but in comparison to the amount of people visiting Amazon’s marketplace to shop, it’s nothing. Nearly 200 million people visit Amazon’s site every month in search of products they need. Amazon customers benefit from the prime 2-day shipping offering, whereas a majority of other online retailing businesses are unable to provide such prompt shipping and delivery options.
This can be disastrous for smaller online retailers that lack the logistical prowess of Amazon. Which is why it’s so important for these smaller retailers to identify ways to please their customers despite this. For example, even if a company isn’t able to ensure a package be delivered within two days of an order like Amazon, they can include a rigorous shipment tracking page on their website that will keep the customer in the know of where their package is at all times. This can help improve the overall customer experience, despite not possessing the logistical capabilities of expedited shipping.
Sometimes shipping considerations won’t be enough to please customers. This is why online retailers should also consider the convenience factor that their website offers in comparison to others. How simple is the ordering process on your website? Do you require new customers to create an account prior to ordering? Can these accounts save critical data and information like shipment and billing addresses for easier repeat purchases? Are there any sort of savings or coupons that come from creating an account? When elements like these are addressed or included in account creation, more customers will save time and will likely make repeat purchases.
Interested in learning more about what you can do to continue keeping your customers happy? More information on the topic can be found in the infographic accompanying this post. Be sure to take some time to check it out.
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.