It’s been
several months since I ranted about Customer Service. Does my silence mean that I’ve seen
improvements in Customer Service levels?
Far from it – in fact I’ve experienced a masterclass in customer dis-service
but I’ll tell all in a future blog.
Customer
expectations for delivery options are getting more demanding and some retailers
are not stepping up to the challenge. A
single offering of £5.95 for 7 days delivery is no longer cutting the mustard.
- What if I’m not at home to
receive the delivery when it arrives?
- I’ve forgotten my partners’
birthday and want the items tomorrow?
- I’m away during the week and can
only receive delivery on Saturday?
Before I congratulate
the good guys I need to emphasise the importance of getting the Delivery
Proposition right.
The average
conversion rate is just under 5 percent for the top 100 retailers.
So why are
online retailers failing to convert 96% of their shoppers into site
buyers? What can retailers do to plug customer
fall-out and reduce this Abandonment Rate?
2 of the
top reasons for Shopping Cart Abandonment are Shipping Charge Resistance (customer
don’t want to pay shipping costs/ the shipping costs are too high) and Delivery
Time is Too Long.
Retailers
can address these reasons by improving their Delivery Proposition. Sounds simple? Then why do so many retailers fail to provide
competitive & flexible delivery options?!
Instead of
my usual rage against those that disappoint I
would like to take this opportunity to thank the following retailers who have
provided me with impressive service over the past few weeks: -
- John Lewis – for delivering my order on Thursday using their Named Day Delivery for £6.95, as well as offering standard
delivery within 5 working days at £3.95 or next day delivery (before 10:30am)
at £9.95.
- Play – for free delivery in 3 working days.
- Woolworths – for sending me an SMS text message to let me know when the
item was ready for their free in-store collection.
- Toysrus – for delivering on a Saturday, as well as offering
next working day and named day delivery.
- Amazon – for your express delivery and allowing me to send items in my order to different delivery addresses.