Retailers failing to keep within five-day delivery schedules are missing out on all-important customer loyalty.
That’s one of the conclusions drawn by Shopatron, using original data from a US-based satisfaction survey of more than 13,000 customers into the link between high net promoter scores (NPS) and delivery times. Shopatron is a provider of cloud-based distributed order management solutions.
Although based exclusively on the opinions of customers in the US, the analysis found that 87% of orders delivered by a retailer or brand in five days or less resulted in a customer ranking as a promoter, and being more likely to be a repeat buyer and brand evangelist.
The percentage of promoters dropped to 66% if an order was delivered in more than five days.
The research also found that shipments fulfilled directly by a brand tended to be significantly slower and shipped from further distances than shipments fulfilled by a retail partner.
“As the marketplace becomes increasingly overcrowded, speed of delivery is a cornerstone of competitive advantage. It’s crucial brands look to maximise their retail partner networks to full effect and open up every possible storefront, warehouse and distribution centre to significantly cut the time it takes to ship an order.” said John Pincott, European MD, Shopatron. “Orders fulfilled directly by a brand can be considerably slower than those fulfilled by a retail fulfilment partner. Considering slower shipping times have a direct impact on customer satisfaction, brands and retailers need to collaborate to close the deal and increase the number of net promoters for their organisations.”
According to Shopatron, partnering with their dealer network means brands can:
- Reduce shipping times by 20% using ship-from-store capabilities
- Enable in-store pick up at retail fulfilment locations
- Use retailer expertise in direct-to-consumer fulfilment
The firm produced this infographic to illustrate its findings:
