Speed and time accuracy are the main decisive factors in eCommerce today. To meet customers’ requirements, merchants have to pay special attention to shipping. As for 80% of online buyers, it plays a key role in the decision-making on where to shop (Bigcommerce, 2019). Successful delivery helps build long-lasting relationships with customers, and what’s even more important, increase their loyalty to your brand.
Go on reading, and you’ll get the answer to how to enhance customer loyalty to your Shopify store with the help of on-time shipping.
Table of Contents
What Buyers Want
Nowadays, online shoppers are free to choose where to buy. They compare not only products in different e-stores but also shipping services. To increase buyers’ interest in your store, you should meet their expectations connected with shipping options and on-time delivery. Let’s have a look at some data and find out what consumers want.
- 45% of U.S. shoppers are expecting next-day delivery in case they placed orders between 1 PM and 4 PM.
- If shipping is free, customers are ready to wait for 4-5 days.
- At the same time, 39% expect free shipping within two days. In case buyers don’t get it, they will switch to the other store.
- 84% won’t shop from a store again in case of poor delivery service (Convey, 2019).
As you can see, shoppers pay special attention to delivery, and for the vast part of them (98.1%) shipping influences their brand loyalty.
Customer Satisfaction Leads to Customer Loyalty
Loyal customers are of great value to every merchant. The more satisfied your consumers are, the higher the probability they become more loyal to your brand. A happy customer is more likely to purchase with your store again, leave positive feedback about the excellent shopping experience, and promote your brand to relatives and friends. All of these will lead to increased sales as retaining loyal customers is more profitable than attracting new ones. McKinsey found that repeat buyers spend twice as much as new shoppers do.
The best way to make your consumers satisfied is to keep your promises fulfilled. It’s especially critical regarding shipping. So, if you promise a product to be delivered within 48 hours, then be sure you do all your best to make it real.
Impact of Delivery on Customer Decision-Making
Shipping is one of the most important things customers pay attention to when shopping online. The main demand is an opportunity to get orders on time. Even with a competitive product price but poor delivery service, you won’t satisfy and retain customers, and will hardly make them loyal to your brand.
87% of online shoppers make their decisions in accordance with delivery time (Dotcom Distribution, 2016). So, you see that for most customers shipping is a determining factor in decision-making regarding shopping in a certain online store. On-time delivery not only helps good service to move forward but also enhances long-term relationships with the brand. For example, 40% of customers say that on-time shipping increases their loyalty to the company, and 47% won’t buy from a retailer again because of bad shipping experience.
Expectations of 86% of buyers for on-time delivery are higher during the holiday season. So, any delay or inaccuracy in shipping can result in loss of brand loyalty. That means if you don’t want to lose your customers and break relationships with them, you have to meet the expectations of your buyers.
How to Build Customer Loyalty
If you want to make your customers more loyal, it’s vital to ship orders on-time. It’s necessary to arrange ‘convenient deliveries’ when buyers are home or at their offices to avoid the hassle and expense of multiple delivery attempts. For that, you should provide your consumers with the possibility to choose the date and time of delivery. According to their choice, you can also offer different price options. So, your shoppers will be able to select between free shipping and fast delivery.
If you want to improve the shopping experience of your customers by giving a chance to choose a preferred delivery date and time Delivery Date and Time Suite by Mageworx can be a help for you.
Examples of Successful Shipping
You see that on-time delivery plays a crucial role in customers’ decision-making and their loyalty to your brand. Let’s have a look at some companies that have a good practice in making consumers more loyal with the help of good delivery service.
Zappos
Zappos has become a company with a one billion dollars turnover thanks to its generous shipping policy. Competitors of the company that sell shoes deliver orders in 3 days. Zappos does it within 2 days or even overnight. Right after placing an order, customers receive a notification about fast delivery.
Taking into consideration the success and overall profit of Zappos, free and on-time shipping has a positive effect. And the attitude of the brand to its customers will undoubtedly make them more loyal.
AspectLED
Customers pay attention to several things when do purchases, these are free shipping, an opportunity to track an order in real-time and to be notified in case of delays. Steve Nielsen, the Сofounder and Chief Marketing Officer for AspectLED, says that once the company began offering free ground shipping to customers for orders greater than $299, there was a 29% decrease in abandoned shopping carts. AspectLED notifies its customers throughout the entire delivery. These notifications are important for buyers as they can be sure that their orders are being processed fast. Nielsen also points out that fast delivery after order placement can foster customer satisfaction with shipping.
Chocomize
Chocomize is one more example of strong shipping policy. This company knows exactly how to increase customer loyalty with the help of on-time shipping service. If you look at the FAQ above, you’ll see that the retailer takes care of its customers and advice not to buy the products on Fridays in the summer period as goods can melt. Such an attitude will obviously enhance customer loyalty to that brand.
Final Thoughts
The success and prosperity of any brand depend on customer loyalty. If you want your buyers to be loyal to your Shopify company, offering exceptional service, especially shipping one, is the main thing you have to do. Only if you satisfy customers, you’ll get their loyalty in return.
