Delays in product delivery might seriously harm your online store.
In e-commerce, non-compliance with the delivery terms specified by the online retailer at the time of purchase is referred to as a delay in product delivery.
When this happens, the client feels misled and can quickly change from being a “customer” to a “detractor,” causing major issues and losses for your business.
Delivery delays are frequently the result of subpar courier service.
However, between 10% and 30% of delays are caused by unrelated circumstances, such as bad weather, the customer not being present when the package is delivered, unclear deadlines, packages getting trapped in containers, etc.
In one way or another, delivery delays can erode customers’ faith in your online store.
Over time, this might have a detrimental impact on generating new leads and consumers, which would hurt your business. Therefore, you’d better start improving your e-commerce right away if you’re having trouble with late deliveries.
Use a Reliable Service Like MyUS
The holiday shipping rush is upon us, and business owners everywhere are feeling the pressure. With customers expecting their holiday orders to arrive on time, it’s more important than ever to choose a shipping partner that you can rely on. MyUS, for example, has a long history of helping businesses streamline their shipping operations and meet their customers’ expectations. It offers a suite of services designed to make shipping to any destination easy and efficient, including package consolidation, storage, and forwarding. Whether you’re looking to save time or money (or both), MyUS can help your business thrive this holiday season.
Impacts of Product Delivery Delays
One of the biggest villains in e-commerce is product delivery delay, which may cost online merchants a lot of money.
To give you an idea, the following data from a study shows how tardiness in shipments significantly impacts retention:
If a purchased item isn’t delivered on time, 69% of consumers are far less likely to shop from the same retailer in the future.
After receiving their deliveries two or three times late, 55% of respondents said they would no longer shop at that retailer.
Following a single instance of a late delivery, 17% of respondents said they would never again buy from that retailer.
In other words, these customers have no patience for delayed product delivery.
The same study also reveals that 86% of customers think that the holiday season is when people anticipate online purchases to be delivered on time.
Furthermore, 45% of consumers anticipate receiving their holiday goods in 5 days or less.
In essence, customers anticipate delivery within 6 days when shipping is free.
In any event, delivery delays have a detrimental effect on KPIs as well as customer loyalty.
Net Promoter Score (NPS), which sees an increase in the number of detractors and consequently lessens credibility in your online store.
Set Up In-Person Pickup or Nearby Delivery
The ways that things are made available to consumers change along with their shopping patterns.
Customers can connect with the local market and get greater control over their orders by allowing home delivery or in-store pickup for online orders. This reduces the need to rely only on a courier.
It takes little time or effort to set up local delivery for online orders. You can design and share efficient delivery routes using an app to fulfill orders locally more quickly.
The app should be available for download on iOS or Android and allow delivery employees and drivers to obtain directions, send notifications, and publish updates on the status of order deliveries.
Make “Delivery Delay” a Measurement
Follow up on this daily. To decrease shipment delays, establish KPIs (targets).
Finally, identify the issues that are generating the delays and address them right away.
Your clients will be grateful.
Stock Up on Packing Materials
You should be able to precisely determine the packaging materials you require to fulfill your orders once you have described your shipping process.
It is now necessary to determine whether the existing packaging is appropriate and whether you have adequate inventory to handle the distribution of Christmas gifts.
The last thing you want is to have to stop order picking during the busiest time of the year, perhaps because you run out of packaging supplies.
Purchase a lot of printable labels if you use a desktop printer. However, if you want to switch to a thermal printer for holiday packages, do it right away.
Knowing the resources you’ll need to rely on beforehand will relieve a lot of your tension.