How essential delivery is for your retail sales

For mid-size retailers, a flawless delivery experience is essential for retaining customers and driving growth, according to recent research.

Deliveries are a make-or-break factor for online shoppers, who rarely buy again from retailers that get deliveries wrong, said global delivery and experience management company nShift.  Whether an up-and-coming or mid-size retailer, focus on building the best delivery experience to build customer loyalty and accelerate growth is essential.

The group’s guide, How Mid-Size Retailers Can Drive Ecommerce Success with Deliveries, noted that retailers sending between 10,000 and one million parcels each year should place delivery management and experience software at the heart of their investment priorities.

The guide explained that retailers need to strengthen the customer experience, promote growth, make the best use of data and keep abreast of future innovations.

It offered the following suggestions to ensure retailers are providing the best delivery:

• Scalability: The ability to tap into a ready-made carrier library with over 1,000 connections provides relevant choices for customers at checkout and allows retailers to ship to new customers overseas as easily as to those in their home country.
• A flexible platform for the long-term: Retailers’ needs change as their business develops, but they can ill-afford the cost and disruption of continually adapting their systems. The right platform offers the flexibility to customize, integrate and plan around evolving needs.
• Access to real delivery innovation: What may seem like a cutting-edge customer experience today soon becomes yesterday’s news. Retailers can stay ahead of these trends by sourcing software from companies that continually invest in new services.
• Cost-effectiveness: Proper delivery management and experience can improve warehouse productivity, increase conversion rates, and boost sales. nShift provides a clear pathway for mid-size retailers to see returns on their delivery management investment.
• Integration with key business systems: The delivery and experience management platform plays a crucial role in a complex retail technology ecosystem that includes ERP systems, shopping carts, warehouse management, and more.

“The delivery experience is a crucial part of the wider customer journey. What happens after customers click ‘buy’ determines whether they shop again,” said Jeroen Terheggen, vice president for mid-market at nShift. “Many mid-size retailers may think they can economize by managing without a delivery and experience management system, or by building their own. That’s a false economy.”