A new survey reveals a major disconnect between retailers and consumers about the perceived value of shipping services: two thirds (66%) of shoppers think that the high cost of shipping does not justify the experience retailers provide. In fact, 59% of shoppers will opt to buy from a brick-and-mortar store if they perceive that the delivery fee for buying the same item online is too high, according to research from Temando.
Multiple shipping options are critical to providing an optimal customer experience. Consumers today want more options to control their deliveries; they want to dictate how, when and where products are shipped. The survey revealed that 41% of consumers want delivery from a local store or distribution center, and that 38% would be willing to pay for it. However, only 24% of retailers currently offer this option (18% would like to offer it within the next 12 months).
The survey also revealed disconnects regarding the types of services offered as well as expectations regarding order tracking:
Advertisement
-
Almost 100% of shoppers would like delivery date estimates, but currently more than half of retailers don’t offer this feature; and
-
40% of consumers expect to access Amazon Prime-style memberships in the next one to three years, but only 25% of retailers plan to introduce these services in the same period.
Handling And Delivery Cost Confusion Stunts Same-Day Progress
Despite consumers’ desire for more of these services, retailers are already hemorrhaging costs from premium delivery services.While retailers such as Macy’s, Best Buy and PetSmart are expanding their same-day delivery experiments, numerous other retailers have limited knowledge of how much these services cost and/or are held back by operational barriers.
The Temando research highlights that retailers are struggling to find a profitable model for premium delivery services, and as a result retailer adoption has slowed down:
-
53% of retailers offered same-day delivery in 2016, compared to only 29% this year; and
-
34% of retailers offered weekend/after-hours delivery in 2016, compared to only 25% this year.
Retailers take note: shoppers are willing to pay up to $18 for same-day delivery and $19 for international shipping; 65% would increase basket size to qualify for free premium shipping.
The Temando survey, titled: The State of Shipping in Commerce, polled 270 small, medium and enterprise retailers, and nearly 1,300 consumers, about a range of shipping-related challenges they face.
