‘With Great Convenience Comes Great Responsibility’Decoding the fulfilment needs of today’s retail customer

In an ‘always on’ world, consumers value convenience above everything else.

Waiting is no longer an option, the ‘sorry we missed you card’ unacceptable and 24/7 access to products and services expected. Today, customers are attracted to the brands that make their lives easier and offer the best experience. Convenience has become the new normal – and the retailers that tap into this are those that stand the best chance of securing customer loyalty and boosting their bottom line.

The rise of ecommerce means that a shopper’s journey no longer ends as soon as they reach the checkout. In 2016, UK shoppers are expected to spend over £60 billion online*, meaning that delivery now has a huge role to play in getting products from supplier to the home. As a result, for many purchases, delivery is the final touch point that a customer has with a brand and now plays a significant role in customer experience.

understanding convenience

Facing increasing pressure to get delivery right, retailers are offering a suite of fulfilment options to meet consumer demand for convenience – and there are clear signs that this is paying off. We’ve found that customers value delivery that suits them so much that they are willing to pay up to six times more for it (compared to standard or free delivery).

But what does ‘convenience’ actually mean? At On the dot, we set out to answer this question, asking consumers from across the UK what convenient delivery looks like for them. The truth is that convenience means very different things for the same customer at different times. Logic tells us that customers do not need every delivery option for every purchase; but knowing which works best - for who, why and when - is a valuable weapon in any retailer’s armoury.

Context is everythingWe asked consumers in the UK three important questions; what they value when it comes to delivery, what convenience means to them and how this changes depending on what and when they are buying.

“In January 2016 On the dot, a CitySprint brand, worked with YouGov to conduct a consumer convenience survey. We surveyed 2044 adults from across the UK.’’

We found that the context of a purchase dramatically affects the type of delivery customers want. This insight provides some great signposts for retailers looking to stand out from the competition.

Unsurprisingly, consumers are most likely to pay for a convenient delivery option, i.e., specified hour and same or next day, when they need an item urgently.

Consumers are also more likely to select a convenient delivery option if they are purchasing a luxury item over a functional one and if they are buying an item for a special occasion rather than a day to day item. In fact, the greater the emotional or financial tug attached to a product, the greater the value consumers put on delivery being fulfilled in a way that is most convenient to them.

Purchases when convenient delivery is most important:

how we did our research

the greater the emotional or financial tug attached to a product, the greater the value consumers put on delivery being fulfilled in a way that is most convenient to them.

An item that is too large/heavy to easily transport

An item for a special occasion (decorations, party clothes etc.)

A gift for someone else

A luxury items for yourself

A functional item A day to day item A discounted item

In addition to this, our data shows that whilst consumers like the option of having deliveries at a specified hour, the specific hour varies. Across the UK, the most popular hours for convenient delivery are 10-11am and 6-7pm.

Again, lifestyle factors alter this trend; 10-11am is up to four times more popular for people in retirement compared to those of working age, whilst those working full time are up to 14% more likely to want a post-work delivery slot of 6-7pm. Geography also plays a huge role in the kind of fulfilment options people prefer.

Those in London, often battling with public transport and congestion to get home, prefer a post-work slot of 7-8pm, rather than 6-7pm, twice as much as anywhere else in the UK.

the role of great delivery

The good news is that a great delivery service, combined with convenient options, can have a dramatic impact upon the chances of retailers retaining a customer for a second purchase.

We found that 80% of consumers value the assurance that comes with package tracking to such an extent that getting this right will impact whether they choose convenient delivery again or not.

77% of customers are also more likely to pay for delivery a second time if they receive their package from a professional courier on their first delivery. It is clear that there are factors beyond speed and efficiency at play here.

timely fulfilment

tracking options

professional couriers

it’s all about timing . . .

What today’s customers want:

So, how can retailers ensure that they are getting convenience right?

1. Go back to basics

This is the golden rule of customer experience – and an important one to remember when it comes to delivery.

Retailers need to recognise that no customer is the same, and what works for one will not always work for the other. Only by understanding this, and making sure that they have really got to the heart of who their customers are and what makes them tick, can brands offer services that are most convenient for them.

2. Interrogate existing customer data – and ask for more

The expectations of your customers are not a mystery. In fact, by looking at previous purchases, survey results and data that they have already supplied, you can work out a lot about customer habits and make smart decisions about the convenient services you should supply.

If you are light on details, the good news is that the days of being afraid to ask customers for information are long gone. Customers today appreciate the need to give brands information about them if they are going to get a fantastic service or product as a result. Retailers can use online questionnaires, post-purchase surveys and lead focus groups to create customer profiles and understand what delivery options their shoppers want and when.

3. Pick up on cues

To gather insights, it is important that retailers understand the context in which consumers purchase. They can do this by picking up in-flight cues that indicate why a purchase is being made – whether that’s about product category, search terms, browsing behaviour or click rates. Your customers are telling you what they want; you just have to pay attention.

Shorter than average browsing times, for example, should be a major indicator that the purchase is being made in a hurry and the shopper may want it urgently. According to our research this means that the buyer is more likely to pay for a convenient delivery option in this instance. It is important that retailers do not miss crucial sign posts like these and tweak customer journeys as a result of them appearing.

getting convenience right4. Put delivery first

Fluctuations in preference due to purchase context suggests that delivery plays a bigger role in customer expectations than we have previously given it credit for.

For the consumer, delivery is no longer an afterthought, but a crucial part of the decision making process. Retailers should ensure that purchase journeys are delivery-led - giving customers the option to search via delivery options, rather than by product for example, when shopping online. This will help end the frustration (on both sides) of abandoned baskets, and ensure customers know that they can get the items they need when they need them, right from the start.

5. Get it right

Unsurprisingly, customers are far more wary if they have been let down by a retailer. They are unlikely to come back if they were disappointed the first time – it’s one of the oldest rules in the retail book.

And with improved convenience comes greater responsibility to get this right. If someone has selected standard (or free) delivery, they may not mind too much if it arrives on the first or last day of the given delivery window. But if they have paid more to receive it at a certain hour, or are staying in on a Saturday morning with the expectation they will receive their delivery, the pressure is really on.

We still see too many retailers over-promising, especially at peak periods. Black Friday is a classic example where brands risk their reputation needlessly by promising faster or more convenient deliveries than they can handle, when in reality customers are unlikely to need their bargain gifts so far ahead of Christmas itself. With the stakes so much higher, this is a needless and dangerous gamble. Retailers and fulfilment partners need to work together to align on expectations and set realistic targets for deliveries.

Today, convenience is not just about speed. Busy lives and demanding schedules mean that customers are looking for brands that can flex around them, offering products and services that make their lives easier, not always faster.

Delivery is a great way for retailers to demonstrate that they can operate on consumers’ terms rather than their own. Only by understanding who your customers are, what they want and when they want it, can retailers use the very last miles of a customer’s journey to build brand advocacy through positive purchase experiences.

winning the brand battle why on the dot?On the dot is a revolutionary delivery service that provides convenient 1-hour timeslots of the customers’ choice.

Retailers can access our RESTful APIs to seamlessly integrate into their own retail environments, offering either timeslot or immediate deliveries, whether that’s the same day, next day, or even next week.

Alternatively, retailers can access On the dot technology via our web portal at onthedot.com