UK online retailers ignoring customers during shipping, parcelLab
Only four of the UK’s 100 largest online retailers provide customers with personalised information about the status of their orders, with 27% not communicating at all during the delivery period.
That’s according to a study carried out by parcelLab. The research involved placing orders with all 100 online shops, including Boots, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Asos, Currys PC World and Apple. Just 11 communicated with their customers directly during shipping. The remaining 89 either left this to the delivery carrier or the customer received no updates at all.
The study also looked at delivery time choice among other factors, finding that seven of the retailers offered a same-day service, and when this was available it was at a high price. Only 12 offered free shipping on all purchases.
Best in show
New Look emerged as the ‘Overall Winner’, Asos landed ‘Best Checkout Experience’, The Fragrance Shop ‘Best Shipping Process’, Zara was announced as ‘Best for Delivery’ and Chain Reaction Cycles as ‘Best Returns’.
“Retailers are no longer defined by their products, but instead they are differentiated by the service they provide from initial visit right through to returns,” says parcelLab Founder and CEO Tobias Buxhoidt. “Therefore, if a retailer wants to consistently outgrow its competitors, they need to build strong customer loyalty through above average customer experiences. This is just as important after checkout as before, if not more so.”
