Start by mapping out your current e-commerce delivery experience and delivery options. Pinpoint the pain points your customers are enduring as well as problems in your logistics operations that are causing an uptake in errors, costs, workload and inefficiency.

Next, look at what your competitors are doing and gain inspiration from leaders in other e-commerce sectors. While you may not be able to deploy a full-scale delivery experience that competes with Amazon, for example, on Day 1, this research will help you map out your short-, mid- and long-term vision and milestones.

Determine what type of stellar delivery experience you want to create. Think of the different ways you can delight customers and eliminate delivery headaches, such as:

● Offer a tool that can easily be integrated into your e-commerce website and points of sale for customers to access a calendar with delivery options, dates and windows

● Set up automated and dynamic scheduling: as customers add items to the shopping carts, they can view changes to delivery options, dates and windows

● Offer loyal customers or orders with high-ticket items premium delivery time slots

● Think green: provide delivery options for customers who are environmentally conscious (delivery by electric vehicle, last-mile providers that pick up packaging for recycling or old appliances to be disposed of appropriately based on functioning, etc.)

● Give customers delivery dates that take into account transit specifics and based on where goods are located (at a manufacturer, in a foreign distribution warehouse, etc.

● Provide delivery flexible options for customers. Offer them home deliveries or deliveries to a retail store, warehouse or third-party pick-up point. Let them select the delivery speed (same day, next day, 2-3 days, 5 days, 10 days, etc.)

● Speed is important in e-commerce deliveries, but above all, you need to develop the capacity to consolidate shipments and collaborate between first to mid to last mile partners in order to optimize delivery workflows and reduce costs

● Give customers real-time visibility into their deliveries via easy-to-use web, desktop, table and smartphone applications

● Provide communications with customers via text messaging, emails or automated calls

● Embed reverse logistics within your delivery workflow and operations.

● Think about leveraging the power of commercially available solutions that feature algorithms that can better manage inventory based on selected delivery options, inventory location and distribution points

Once you’ve gotten a clear picture of your delivery experience and needs, start exploring new technologies. Many readily available e-commerce solutions on the market today can enable you to do much more than just build an e-commerce story. ClearDestination, for example, an innovative, cloud-based end-to-end delivery management solution, offers highly sophisticated features to help manufacturers and retailers improve their delivery experience and operate more efficiently—with minimal resources or technology savviness.

Next-generation e-commerce consumers have varying e-commerce delivery needs depending upon their age, socio-demographics, culture, income, lifestyles, e-commerce purchasing history and experience, the type of product they are buying, and the perceived level of immediacy (“I need it now!”).

Let’s take a look at some of the most prevalent consumer needs with respect to e-commerce deliveries, apart from the aforementioned free deliveries. 

Speed of delivery: Not surprisingly, consumers want their e-commerce purchases—and they want them STAT. According to a 2018 UPS report, entitled UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper Study, 45% of US and 39% of Canadian consumers expect that orders placed between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. are eligible for express or next-day delivery.

RetailWire even found that, during a comprehensive consumer poll, the maximum number of days customers are willing to wait for an item to be delivered in exchange for free shipping decreased from 5.5 days in 2012 to 4.1 in 2018. This finding has most likely been exacerbated by the unmatched performance of Amazon Prime, which has raised the bar significantly on fast delivery. Flexibility and convenience: While free shipping may seem to be the holy grail of an e-commerce delivery experience strategy, it is important to remember that many consumers nevertheless want flexible shipping options. RetailTouchpoints indicates that 88% of customers are willing to pay for same-day delivery.

Still others are not looking for free delivery per se; rather, they want a variety of options to choose from, regardless of their location or type of product. In UPS’ study, 2 out of 3 consumers have used “buy online, pick-up in store” programs to avoid shipping fees and maximize speed. In a nutshell, tailor deliveries to customers’ preferences and lifestyle— not the other way around.

Another important factor? Letting customers choose their delivery date and time windows.

End-to-end visibility: Nothing frustrates consumers more than a lack of information—and real-time visibility—into where their order is actually landed in the logistics chain. If expectations haven’t been set clearly from the start as to timelines or if delivery dates are not respected, customer dissatisfaction is likely to occur. This can cause a snowball effect in terms of repeated customer service calls, cancelled orders, and competitors waiting for these jaded consumers with open arms. With today’s technologies, there is simply no excuse for e-commerce businesses not to offer customers end-to-end visibility into their shipments. However, due to the complexities of logistics networks, which are often comprised of multiple first-, mid- and last-mile partners with discrepant backend solutions and siloed workflows, achieving seamless logistics collaboration can be difficult at best.

Transparency: Visibility also means not just talking the talk—but walking the walk. In a RetailerTouchpoints poll, transparency is a major sell point for hard-earned consumers. Did you know that 63% of online shoppers indicate that knowing the estimated or guaranteed delivery date is important? On top of end-to-end visibility, customers also prefer that manufacturers and retailers remain upfront with any delivery issues; in other words, if a delivery is set to be late, let customers know as soon as possible. In an era of e-commerce, the element of negative surprise and a lack of proactivity is far from ideal.

Accuracy: First-time-right deliveries may appear to be no-brainers for impatient online shoppers, but that does not mean that manufacturers, retailers or their carrier partners are immune to errors in terms of inaccurate orders, which may mean missing items, surpluses or altogether unwanted products that somehow found their way into a customer’s shipment. Inaccurate deliveries are a hassle for customers, particularly in the case of product returns, and a profit-gouging problem for manufacturers and retailers, which have to manage the reverse logistics.

In order to elevate the e-commerce delivery experience, forward-thinking manufacturers must keep in mind these top 10 e-commerce delivery best practices:

● Provide clear information about shipping rates, delivery estimates by region, your shipping and returns policy.

● Shipping rates should be upfront and accessible to all website visitors. In other words, don’t make website visitors log into a specific section or purchase an item to get shipping rates.

● Feature shipping information on every specific product page.

● Provide a quick link to your shipping page via customers’ shopping carts.

● Make money off of your products—not shipping.

● Offer free shipping to an easily attainable level above your average order value.

● Speed is crucial in the e-commerce game: make next-business-day shipments the norm. Ship express orders the same day as they are received.

● Provide tracking numbers to customers to offload support staff and minimize emails and calls.

● Address inaccurate, delayed and lost shipments promptly. Show customers you have a handle on the situation and make remedying the problem seamless for them.

● Remain innovative and constantly look for new ways to improve the e-commerce delivery experience.

Today’s retail landscape is undergoing a massive transformation, with businesses being forced to respond to ever-changing consumer preferences and behaviour, technological innovation, aggressive moves from online competitors, and disruptive upstarts. e-commerce, in particular, mirrors the changes and challenges the retail industry is experiencing. According to Internet Retailer’s estimates, in 2018, e-commerce’s total share of retail sales was over 15%, representing nearly $3 trillion. eMarketer predicts that global e-commerce sales worldwide will jump to nearly $4.9 trillion by 2021 and account for 17.5% of total global retail sales.

Now while online sales still only make up a fraction of all retail sales, the industry, as a whole, needs nevertheless to adapt to this undeniable new reality. But what does the meteoric rise of e-commerce mean for the retail industry?

For one, brick-and-mortar shops can no longer afford not to have a rock-solid e-commerce strategy, or they may face extinction. Today’s tech-savvy, mobile-first consumers live in an omni-channel world in which they demand to be able to shop when, where and through what means they prefer. Frighteningly, many companies have not been agile enough on the e-commerce front; online competition and the subsequent decline of shopping malls has caused thousands of store closings over the past few years.

As the lines blur between physical and digital shopping, an increasing number of consumers now use multiple channels during their shopping journey. From social and marketplace shopping to voice searches and purchases, to sales-driven chatbots to product subscription services, there are a myriad of new channels that are generating not only new touch points but also expanding e-commerce’s sales reach.

Offline and online brands are also confronted with the Amazonification of shopping, which have left brands faced with the difficult decision of partnering with the behemoth to sell their products and leveraging its incredible logistics operations—or remain independent to keep control over their very brands and customers. But it doesn’t stop there. Many retail industry pundits see a global war brewing between Amazon, Walmart and Alibaba for the global e-commerce market; product selection, pricing, customer experience and service, and delivery will all be the weapons these juggernauts will use to secure dominance, whether in specific regions or around the world.

Finally, thanks to the democratization of the Internet and an upsweep in Internet users from around the world, e-commerce is becoming even more globalized than ever before. First, developing countries are becoming gateways for Western manufacturers and retailers to access huge markets that were previously untapped.

Secondly, more and more online shoppers are transcending borders to get the products they crave; according to Nielsen, 57% of online shoppers made an online purchase from an overseas retailer in the past six months alone.

Overseas online purchasing rates vary greatly around the world Percentage of online shoppers who said they have purchased overseas retailer in the past six months.

ClearDestination is pleased to help Leon’s Furniture to improve its delivery experience. This new concept store features a wide variety of smart services, including ClearDestination’s technology platform:

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ClearD in the news : 

https://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2019/8/canadian-furniture-retailer-leons-unveils-innovative-tech-heavy-concept-store-photos

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/leon-s-furniture-launches-new-smart-store-concept-851730686.html

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/LNF-T/pressreleases/3471421/