Many happy returns
Better returns and in-transit information is key to improving online delivery experiences, says IMRG.
An IMRG study of online retail delivery and consumer expectation, supported by BluJay, has emphasised the importance of a returns service that offers convenience, as well as access to better in-transit information about their order.
The IMRG BluJay UK Consumer Home Delivery Review 2017, the ninth in the series, asked 2,000 online shoppers 50 questions to gain a comprehensive view of their developing expectations and perceptions in this key part of the customer experience.
While overall customer satisfaction with online delivery remains steadily around the 85% mark – and has actually shown a marginal increase over the past few years – their satisfaction with returns remains almost 20 percentage points behind on 67%. However, this represents an increase on last year when it was recorded at 61%.
Andrew Starkey, head of e-logistics, IMRG: “Returns are a complex and potentially expensive part of online retail that has to be managed carefully – in Q2, we tracked a rise in the average rate of returns to 23%, the highest rate since we started measuring in 2010. Shoppers have been trained to expect convenience at all stages of their interactions with retailers and the returns process is one of the more difficult areas to get absolutely right. The returns satisfaction level has risen this year back to its 2014 level, after two years of hovering around the 61% mark – this drop was probably connected to increasing expectation on the part of shoppers, and it may be that we are seeing improvements driven by the necessary focus that retailers have had to put on this important area of online retail.”
Respondents to the survey also indicated that in-transit information is highly valued, with consistently more that 70% rating this as ‘important’ or ‘very important’ to their shopping experience. Once the order has been placed, unsurprisingly a consistently high proportion (85%) of shoppers value being kept informed about the progress of its delivery.
Nigel Doust, Blackbay CEO, BluJay Solutions: “Consumers want predictability, in both delivery and in communication throughout the entire delivery journey. There is an ever-increasing requirement to provide information and transparency of processes throughout the physical supply chain to allow consumers to accurately anticipate delivery. Retailers and delivery companies with a commitment to customer experience are enabling consumers to provide helpful delivery and tracking information; they are treating the customer as an individual, not an address.”
The survey data for the report was compiled by eDigitalResearch (edr), part of MARU Group.
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