As an e-commerce entrepreneur, you have taken great pains to craft a user-friendly engaging site, market the same and eventually offer a great in-store experience for your visitors. However, your responsibility doesn’t really end there. As someone has put it rightly, shipping does remain the final frontier of customer satisfaction.
For online retailers, getting their products from the warehouses to the respective delivery destinations remains a crucial factor determining customer satisfaction. Thanks to this particular fact, it is very important for them to follow the most recent shipping industry trends and developments. So, here is a look at all the changes taking place in the shipping industry that will eventually impact online businesses. Read on to unravel.
The Rise of Big Data in Shipping
Let us not forget about the fact that business data has always been around. Earlier this data was mostly an untapped resource – restricted to filing cabinets. However, thanks to the rise of new technologies, small businesses can easily harness data to serve customers in a better fashion.
All that these businesses require are the right tools to analyze information including website traffic, pricing histories, mobile device usage, time in transit and shipping destinations. Proper analysis of this data can help businesses make informed decisions. Reduction of company costs and improved business practices are immediate benefits
For example, just by taking a look at the places where products are shipped most frequently and the total time required reaching there – businesses can actually decide on the best location for a warehouse – thereby saving time and money.
Shipping Bulky Items is almost Regularity Now!
This one perhaps remains one of the most heartening shipping industry trends to have taken place in recent times. Do you know why online retail has grown at such an unprecedented pace? It’s because it has been committed to expanding its portfolio with the passage of time. Gone are the days, when you couldn’t even think of buying furniture online. Today, however, it’s a reality. Needless to say, the change wouldn’t have been possible without the aid of the shipping industry.
Earlier, companies like UPS and FedEx let the trucking companies rule the market as far as the delivery of the bulky items was concerned. However, with the passage of time, as the demand for bulky items grew, the leading courier companies seriously started pondering over their shipping options. FedEx soon announced that it was actually running a pilot in 6 US markets. And under the pilot, the company is actually delivering bulky items to both businesses and homes.
If you are an online retailer willing to sell bulky items then you should ideally keep track of the latest offerings that this particular space has in store for you!
Pick-up hours have been extended by many companies out there
It wouldn’t really an exaggeration to claim that consumers expectations from e-Commerce retailers have reached an all-time high by now! And by “expectations” we mean delivery speed here. Thanks to Amazon, the pressure on the other retailers has only soared with time. Today, over 100 million household units have actually ended up subscribing to Amazon Prime which has free 2-day shipping facility available. The company has its own transport network backing this particular endeavor.
For the retailers competing with Amazon, however, courier giant FedEx announced a late night shipping program that actually enabled shipping packages to be picked up late – as late as 2 a.m. Online retailers – as such – are capable of pulling off same or next-day delivery offers, which they couldn’t do earlier – otherwise.
More Specific Time Frame for Delivery of Packages
As an entrepreneur, you should be well aware of what irks your customers the most. Leaving packages at the doorstep often leads to the theft of the same. Or else, there are companies that leave with “Sorry we missed you” messages. Not happening!
According to a survey, more than 75% of the customers rooted for a specific time of delivery of packages. In fact, 37% of them have happily agreed to pay extra for deliveries in specific time-slots. A look at the most recent shipping industry trends will tell you that some of the leading carriers’ tracking information has improved by a considerable margin in recent times.
Today, your customers are better informed about the position of the package on its delivery route and of course about the estimated delivery date. Moreover, most of the consumers are well aware of the time when the mail carrier arrives each day and are thus in a position to plan receipt in accordance. Small businesses – can definitely consider on-demand delivery options including Deliv or UberRush. This will help them offer improved delivery services. These services help customers specify the exact time when they would like the order to be delivered.      Â
You can well understand that knowing these trends can help you make informed decisions as far as the delivery of orders is concerned.
