Customer expectations around delivery are changing. As we increase our online shopping frequency and continue to accelerate the shift to e-commerce, our understanding of the new normal is evolving.

No longer does a three to five-day delivery window suffice. Instead, next day or even same-day delivery is becoming sought after. It’s now a point of differentiation.

At the same time, we want a choice over where couriers leave our deliveries. Having spent 18 months locked behind doors, we’re now getting out and about – and with that comes a need for flexibility. This movement has also highlighted a consumer requirement for improved communications. In 2021 38% of adults in the UK received the dreaded “sorry we missed you” card through their door – despite being home at the time. This is frustrating, and customers and retailers can only resolve it  through improved communication with each other.

What can retailers do to solve these issues that plague last-mile delivery, and what can customers expect as we look ahead over the next five years?

Sustainability takes on a larger role

Environmentally aware consumers will see that the current delivery system is unsustainable. We expect that the number of packages we’re likely to order will treble by 2030. This means triple the number of deliveries and triple the amount of pollution. Still, we can already see examples of more sustainable delivery methods.

Our takeaway food deliveries rarely get to us by car. Bikes and electric scooters have proven to be the fastest and most efficient way of navigating larger cities. With this, the use of electric vehicles is already on the rise for package delivery. Still, it will soon become standard as consumers want to see courier companies taking responsibility for their emissions.

The use of data in driver recruitment

Driver analytics will allow couriers to expel those doing a poor job and hurting their brands. Quality will become just as important as quantity, leaving horror stories of packages thrown over the gate or left out in the rain as a memory. This will allow recipient perception of the delivery industry to transition from negative to positive. A search across social media platforms for the dialogue between customers and top UK courier companies reveals just how negative an experience customers are having.

Monitoring over 8,000 tweets from customers toward courier services from DHL to Hermes, we found that 83% of all tweets to the UK’s top courier companies are negative. One of the most significant issues across most regions was late delivery, with other issues such as misplaced packages and deliveries to the wrong address also driving customer complaints. This highlights that the delivery system still has room for improvement and that couriers still need to address various areas By monitoring how each driver is working and delivering, retailers and couriers will pinpoint these issues and mitigate the consequences more quickly and efficiently.

An increase in booking ‘delivery slots’

We may also start to see a more standardised process when it comes to delivery. Food deliveries in the UK are all based on a booking system. Customers can have their delivery at a convenient time. This leads to less missed deliveries and is more efficient for the drivers as they shouldn’t need to return to an address.

Royal Mail now offers a similar service for packages where you can choose a time that you will be available to sign for the delivery. This helps set realistic targets for drivers – as a booking system would allow them adequate time to drop off each delivery. With each customer not only knowing but actively choosing their timeslot, they’ll be prepared to receive their package.

New and improved delivery communications

Currently, every courier operates differently. Sometimes you’ll receive a text to let you know your delivery is coming. Other times you may get an email, phone call or not hear anything about your delivery until it’s at your door. Some couriers may operate through an app that lets you track how close your driver is. There’s no consistency with how we receive our updates.

This is an area of last-mile delivery that could boost customer experience and driver efficiency if improved. If customers knew how and where to reach them, their driver could leave the package in an agreed location with neighbours or ask for a rescheduled delivery without the wasted time of courier drivers.

Through technological innovation, last-mile delivery has made some progress over the past decade, but there is still a long way to go. We can’t predict the future, but we can plan for what we want it to be by considering changing consumer needs and desires.. Last-mile delivery, as it stands, is inadequate for drivers, retailers and the customer – we need to fix it.

About the Author

Jack Underwood is Founder and CEO of Circuit. Circuit is the best way to manage your delivery operations. Everything you’ll need to create routes, track packages, manage drivers and delight your customers.

David Grimes, CEO and Founder of Sorted offers some key tips to retailers on how to reduce high WISMO and WISMR contact rates while at the same improving the customer experience.

Online retail is booming like never before. Even with the easing of coronavirus restrictions and increased high street footfall, the UK online retail space grew significantly in April, with sales rising 10.2% YoY. While this is doing wonders for the ecommerce space, expectations for fast and transparent delivery are leading to a huge wave of customer queries and more pressure on contact centres.

More precisely, ‘Where is my order’ (WISMO) or ‘where is my return’ (WISMR) queries are often topping the charts, making up to 80% of enquiries. With 87% of customers saying being kept informed is the most important delivery factor, retailers need to take a step back and assess how they can reduce this influx of requests while simultaneously improving the customer experience.

The cost of WISMOs

When considering how long it takes to resolve queries and how many employees it requires to support customers, each WISMO or WISMR contact can cost around £4 and £6. That’s a pretty hefty price tag when you have hundreds of thousands, especially taking its toll on your bottom line during peak shopping periods.

Yet there’s also the cost that doesn’t immediately show up in your budget – the damaging effect WISMOs and WISMRs can have on customer loyalty and brand reputation. Today, roughly 50% of customers say they would switch to a new brand after just one bad experience. This could therefore mean high churn and serious revenue loss.

Alongside this, there’s a lot of power in online customer reviews. So every disappointing delivery experience or unresolved customer enquiry turns a promoter into a detractor. Negative reviews can stop an average of 40% of buyers from wanting to buy from a business.

Top 3 tips to reduce WISMOs

High WISMO and WISMR contact rates are clearly expensive problems to have, yet it’s not all doom and gloom. Everything retailers need to reduce them and achieve that 5* customer delivery experience is already within their business; people, tech and data.

1. Call deflection

Phone contacts are resource-intensive, costly and time-consuming. Too often, customers can be left in radio silence or on hold as operators jump from one ringing phone to the next. When we consider that it can cost five times more to attract a new customer, than it does to retain an existing one, communicating with customers should leave them with a smile on their face, rather than be a cause of frustration.

When we hear ‘call deflection’ we often think about dodging calls. But this isn’t the case, it’s just about working smarter, not harder, to connect with customers on the channel of their choosing. By leveraging tools such as live chat or WhatsApp, an agent can handle multiple enquiries at once, offering retailers the chance to gain a competitive advantage and utilise lower-cost channels rather than costly phone calls being default. For instance, by implementing post-purchase tracking, brands can automate delivery updates to customers through own digital channels, letting them self-serve queries and reducing customer contacts by 35%.

It’s not just live chat that’s a saving grace for retailers, brands can pick from an abundance of omnichannel options. Whether it’s chatbots, emails, SMS or social channels, retailers now need to be wherever their customers expect them to be.

2. Self-service and automation

Self-service tracking can immediately cut WISMO and WISMR contacts by giving customers the insights they need at the click of a button. Not only does this give shoppers greater autonomy over their post-purchase journey, but empowers them with the answers they need straightaway. Self-serve goes far beyond simply servicing tracking needs and reducing WISMO and WISMR contacts – it allows retailers to connect with customers and increase brand engagement at every touchpoint of the delivery journey.

Likewise, automation can be used to embed tracking updates directly into your digital channels, to get proactive with communication and stay one step ahead of the customer. With regular automated updates, the customer can know about any exceptions or changes to their delivery without customer services input. Today, 90% of customers say they would choose to shop again following a positive delivery experience, so improving the final mile is likely to skyrocket customer satisfaction and retention rates.

3. Informed and proactive teams

One of the most common causes of WISMO and WISMR contacts is a lack of access to delivery performance insights for teams, so much so that many brands only hear about issues when the phone rings. And it is this lack of visibility which negatively impacts both average handling time and first contact resolution.

By arming your teams with actionable, accurate delivery performance data all in one dashboard, teams can keep track of issues and performance to serve customers better. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that disruption is unavoidable. Yet when the unexpected does happen, more delivery visibility can allow retailers to spot issues quicker, make changes fast and proactively resolve problems before customers rack up a costly enquiry for you. So retailers can keep customer promise and protect customer experience, as your teams are ready with insight and prepared to deal with anything.

Connecting the dots

Customers want to be able to access delivery or returns tracking information, and if they can’t find this easily, an influx of WISMOs and WISMR contacts will be extremely damaging. To say goodbye to unnecessary customer contacts and allow agents to proactively resolve issues before they touch customers or NPS and CSAT scores; retailers need to join the dots across the whole delivery journey.

About the Author

David Grimes is CEO and Founder of Sorted, the delivery experience company. Sorted are harnessing the power of tech to transform the world of deliveries for businesses and consumers globally.

Smooth and quick shipping is essential to ecommerce business success.

69% of consumers are much less likely to shop from a business again if their purchase isn’t delivered within two days of the delivery date promised, Business Wire reports. If you’re an ecommerce store owner, implementing effective shipping strategies will satisfy customers and keep them coming back for more.

Choose a reliable carrier

Partnering with a reliable carrier is key to getting your packages delivered on time and delighting customers. Whether it’s FedEx, UPS, or other local operators, discuss your product list and customer reach with a range of suitable carriers. You’ll be provided with information on pricing models, shipping options, and guarantees. If you deal with a high volume of shipments, you may be able to negotiate a better rate. Use the dimensional weight calculator offered by FedEx and UPS to calculate the total price for a shipment and choose the cheapest option for customers. While you may not be able to implement a strategy that rivals a brand like Amazon’s, you can still provide customers with fast, affordable shipping. In particular, the Amazon strategy successfully combines impressive logistics, shipping, branding, and merchandising all-in-one. But, simply by making your shipping as cost-effective as possible, you can make your offerings more attractive to customers and even encourage them to spend a little more to get quicker delivery.

Run a successful warehouse

Running a successful warehouse involves filling orders correctly and dispatching them on-time with no bottlenecks — which in turn ensures happy customers. If you struggle with this, simple yet effective changes can be implemented. For example, a warehouse management tool can help you meet demand and double check everything’s running smoothly. Alternatively, you may need to expand your premises. If this isn’t within your budget, using an ecommerce fulfillment provider can help get your orders accurately filled and delivered to customers on time.

Add a personal touch

Before shipping your packages, add a personalized touch. 80 percent of shoppers are more likely to purchase from a business offering personalized experiences, while 44 percent of consumers say a personalized experience will likely trigger a repeat purchase. For example, include a handwritten note addressed to each customer thanking them for their purchase. Personalized touches delight customers and encourage them to make repeat purchases.

Smooth shipping is crucial for customer satisfaction. By choosing a reliable carrier, running a successful warehouse, and adding a personal touch, you can make shipments on time and keep customers happy.

Brian Culley looks at the impact deliveries have on your ability to provide excellent customer care.

“Do our deliveries negatively impact our business?” Is a question every business owner or manager should be asking, daily.

Why? Because the answer can be a simple but easily overlooked, “Yes.” Because delivery drivers are often the last contact a customer has with your business. A bad delivery experience can often keep customers from returning to your business despite everything else going exceptionally well.

For example I had a customer that frequently came to me for home furnishings, and we had a great relationship built on mutual trust and respect. I had sold Paul his personal furniture as well as furniture for multiple rental properties that he owned.

He was a valued client to say the least. He referred his friends and colleagues to me without hesitation. Paul came in at least once a month to furnish a new property. On one occasion he made a small purchase, a queen size mattress and box set for $399.00 to be delivered the next day. After wards, the delivery driver told me everything went well and I gave it no further thought.

After several months of not seeing one of my best customers I ran into him at Sam’s Club and asked Paul when he was coming in again. He said “Never! That mattress was ripped, your driver was two hours late and he had an attitude to top it off! The kind of money I spend with you and this is the best I can expect.” Man was I embarrassed. Here I was thinking of my next sale and it hadn’t even occurred to me that there could be a problem.

Paul was upset. He had forgotten about all the times everything had gone right, he was focused on that one bad delivery. “What can I do to make this right?.” I asked. “Look Paul let me make this up to you I’ll bring you out a new mattress no charge and I’ll even give you free delivery on your next purchase.”

“You’ll bring me?” He asked. What could I say? What would you say? “Yes,” I said, “I’ll deliver it personally.” This appeased Paul, and when I dropped off the mattress, he had another order waiting for me.

But, what if I hadn’t run into Paul? What if we didn’t already have a good relationship? I would have lost a valuable customer and I would probably have never learned a valuable lesson. Unfortunately, given a bad experience a delivery driver or helper will often be the last people your customers will see.

I believe that it is up to us as business owners and managers to hire and properly train our employees to do the best possible job and insure our company’s future.

We often overlook our warehouse and delivery personnel as less important than our sales staff because they don’t bring in revenue. Having a great delivery team can definitely increase your sales. Sometimes it is as simple as being on-time, being courteous and investing the extra effort it takes to provide great service.

About the Author

With over 25 years in Transportation industry, Brian A. Culley provides warehousing, delivery and inventory solutions.