Buying decisions in a crisis become increasingly stressful. Accenture reports that 64% of consumers are worried about their health, and the same proportion (64%) is anxious about their job security.
What’s even more stressful is the process of waiting for a parcel to arrive. Customers get nervous about their orders during a crisis, and are much more likely to call customer service lines in a bid to reassure themselves. In the case of this current crisis, the strain has been exacerbated by the supply chain delays many retailers have experienced as they struggle to keep pace with demand. Cue the rise of the so-called WISMO, or Where Is My Order, call.
Fielding a rise in WISMOs can quickly become both costly and time-consuming. For one major high street chain we work with, customer service calls cost $5 apiece. Brands with an optimized post purchase experience will find it easier to reduce the strain on customer service hotlines, and ultimately improve their end-to-end shopping experience.
One of the easiest ways to reassure your customers is by providing easy-to-follow tracking. Indeed, according to our research, 69% say tracking is one of their top three buying considerations. The mechanism itself is fairly widespread these days, but the quality of execution remains hit-and-miss. Many retailers send their customers to third-party websites where information can be fragmentary and confusing.
This is a frustrating experience for shoppers, which often encourages them to call customer service hotlines – generating additional work for your team in the process! Not only that, it’s also a missed opportunity for you to maximize brand value and drive additional revenue streams. The most successful brands are moving to centralize tracking into their own branded portal where communication is simple and easy-to-understand.
The All-Delivery Era has arrived. The only question that remains is how you will adapt your own business to make the most of it. The most successful brands will be those that can differentiate their online offering through a convenient, personalized and reliable experience from the buy button and beyond.
Find out more about the All-Delivery Era, and how you can reinvent your ecommerce experience. Download the Metapack eCommerce Delivery Benchmark Report 2020.