E-commerce customers now want their products immediately. You noticed it, didn’t you? If they could, they would make them appear in front of them with a snap.
Accustomed to the speed and efficiency of a giant like Amazon, they don’t accept a shipment that takes more than 3-4 days to arrive.
According to data from an American search at the end of 2017, buyers who do not buy on Amazon expect delivery times of around 5 days, while the patience of those who buy on Amazon has a lower limit: less than 4 days.
And it’s up to you to adapt as much as possible. Maybe losing out too. But you may think that if it helps to satisfy your customers, it will be worth it.
They will not pull a face seeing a week’s shipping time, but they will be encouraged to buy knowing that in a short time they will have the object so desired at home. And maybe they will leave a positive review.
Now fast shipping is everything and, on the contrary, a delayed shipment can do much more damage to your company than you think. In fact, most people refuse to give a second chance to the Merchant held responsible for the delay. Because maybe you did everything to send as soon as possible but then the courier delayed delivery and in the customer’s perception the fault is still yours.
Now let’s see in particular which metrics of your e-commerce are affected by a late shipment.
Acquiring a new customer costs a lot because you have to put in place all the marketing tools you know, from the site, to the pages on social networks, to e-mails, and so on. The Customer Acquisition Cost is a fundamental fact of every e-commerce, from the smallest to the largest, and it can increase a lot if you manage the after-sales phase badly and maybe you are forced to offer a “repair” discount after a late delivery.
There is also another cost that you must consider, that of a regular customer. After so much effort and so many investments, you have managed to create a circle of loyal customers you have to retain. A late shipment can drive away even the most loyal of customers.
The last metric to take into consideration is the Customer Lifetime Value, or the profit you can get from each customer in a defined time.
These costs can rise also due to shipping delays, a very negative publicity for your business. But before analyzing their impact, let’s see how and why delayed deliveries are so frequent.
You may not know that about 10% of shipments suffer delays that are not dependent on the carrier. But it is not enough: the figure can rise up to 30% in particularly congested periods, like close to the holidays.
In short, shipments can be delayed for various reasons, including:
As you can see, shipments are delayed for many reasons, and the ones I listed to you are only a part.
Now let’s see how a late delivery affects you when you have to enter the income and expenditure account at the end of the month.
So we come to the decisive question that all Merchants ask at this point: how can I manage and control shipments even in the event of delays that do not depend on me, but on the carrier? A solution exists, and it is much simpler than you think.
It’s called ShippyPro Track & Trace and it will help you to monitor every shipment, checking for any delays before the customer starts puffing and wondering where his package is.
In particular, ShippyPro Track & Trace offers you the possibility of:
In short, with ShippyPro Track & Trace a late shipment will no longer be a question mark for customers and a problem to be solved for you.
Try it now and manage in the best way the relationship with customers in the post-sales phase. It will benefit your customers and your company, since you will no longer receive negative reviews that accuse you of a delay in shipping or poor communication.