Top 5 Fulfilment Tips For Retailers
“Shipping can be your key competitive advantage, and your market differentiator ” – Notes Carl Hartmann, Managing Director and CEO of Temando in the latest report from Power Retail – Fulfilment As A Profit Centre .
As today’s discerning consumer increasingly shops online,
it’s more important than ever to get your fulfilment right. Below are 5 tips to help retailers deliver on
fulfilment:
1. Free
Shipping &/or a clear base shipping value proposition
It’s a myth that people abandon because
they don’t get free shipping – they abandon when they get unexpected charges at
the last moment of a sales process.
2. Multiple
Shipping Options at the Checkout
Consumers are increasingly after delivery options
that suit their lifestyle, express shipping, timeslots, and collection options.
The more you give the customer what they want, the more likely they are to
convert.
3. Free
or Easy Returns
Especially for apparel merchants, free returns
is actually an even larger influence on conversions then free shipping
4. Use multiple carriers
Every provider has different strengths and weaknesses, so it’s both more cost effective and more reliable to ensure that the right provider is used for the right destination (lane) and product.
The biggest operational cost of an online
business is the “where’s my delivery” phone call. By creating shared access to
information between the carrier, customer and merchant – customers can be kept
in the loop and calls of this nature can be negated.