As we’ve said many times, the speed, reliability, and ease of use of Amazon Prime delivery have set a high bar for online retailers looking to meet or exceed customer expectations. The challenge is that most brands don’t have the same scale or resources available as Amazon, leaving a disconnect between expectations and the real-life delivery experience.
Ecommerce residential delivery is expensive. Shippo's recent survey of retailers and consumers found that nearly half of online sellers spend more than 10% of the total order value on shipping. For low-margin businesses, that’s a huge hit. Another third of sellers spend 6-10% on delivery costs. At the same time, more than 60% of consumers will not purchase online without free shipping, and 75% will choose a free shipping option over paid options.
Given the above, it’s no surprise the survey also found the cost of shipping to be the top challenge for online retailers by almost a 2-1 margin over any other factor. With shipping costs rising annually, the overriding question for many retailers is how to provide a differentiated delivery experience that meets customer expectations without breaking the bank.
AxleHire CEO Adam Bryant has some ideas for dealing with this challenge. First off, retailers should offer customers delivery speed/cost options. To maximize cart conversions, brands should, at a minimum, provide a free option and one or more premium expedited choices. The key is to keep it simple but give each customer a choice of service levels and costs.
To see more of Adam’s thoughts, check out this post for the Forbes Technology Council, where Adam identifies six ways to provide a differentiated delivery experience.
To find out more about how AxleHire can help you provide more reliable and sustainable deliveries to your customers, connect with one of our logistics experts.
