E-commerce is constantly changing. Over the past 10 years, it has grown by 10- 15% per year, and its percentage spending in retail is still growing. Additionally, a completely new demographic started ordering online for the first time during the pandemic.
Therefore, today we will show you the latest consumer insights on how to turn e-commerce logistics into your competitive advantage in 2023. Read on or check out the full report here.
Consumer characteristics
It’s no surprise that social commerce is on the rise. For the past decade, Meta has developed Facebook & Instagram shopping. Additionally, both TikTok and Pinterest have dedicated shops – they all are of interest at different levels.
In Europe & the US, the average online shopper orders online every 2-4 weeks and spends €136 per order. Depending on the generation, the average number of orders per month varies. Millennials, for example, order online 2.1 times a month on average. The boomers order online the least often – 1.5 times per month.
Checkout abandonment
In order to create a checkout process that converts well, you need to know what causes customers to abandon their baskets. Based on the survey, the following results were found:
With such data, you can easily fix these problems and prevent shoppers from abandoning baskets. For online stores, this is a huge loss in lifetime value.
These are the top 3 reasons why people abandon their checkout carts due to shipping:
- Shipping costs are the number one concern.
- The second most common reason is a long estimated delivery time.
- And last, the preferred delivery method is not available.
Shipping and delivery
Online retailers face several challenges when it comes to shipping. On orders worth 15, 50, or 150 euros, people are willing to pay a maximum of:
This could be due to a number of reasons. However, premium delivery options are likely to be more reliable and safer, making them worth the extra money. Anyone who buys an expensive item wants it as soon as possible, which involves extra costs. So, as we know, fast delivery often comes at a premium price.
Additionally, some customers are willing to pay more for high-value orders, but many expect free delivery.
What about the time of delivery? Well, customers expect their orders to be delivered in 3.3 days, and they can wait a maximum of 4.9 days for them to arrive.
It is also interesting to note that customers prefer free shipping over fast shipping.
Although the price is important, many customers actually value a carrier’s service-related features more than its price.
Tracking
Let’s not forget about tracking – it goes beyond status updates. When it comes to delivery, consumers want to know where their packages are at all times. Therefore, keeping your customers informed will prevent your customer service team from receiving unnecessary questions.
If you have a lot of returns caused by failed delivery attempts, try sending tracking notifications via SMS. With a phone in one’s pocket, consumers are much more likely to read tracking updates right away and accept the parcel at home. Among all shoppers, SMS preference still remains strong.
Returns
E-commerce returns are one of the biggest headaches. For a long time, free returns were the norm, but that’s changing.
It is impossible for your business to succeed if every customer is unhappy. Customers who are unhappy are unlikely to buy from your online store again, even if they do not return their order.
So, is there anything you can do? Yes! – you should find out why your unhappy customers don’t return their orders.
Having a clear return policy helps to increase conversions and win over customers. Following these four steps, you can easily create your own returns policy.
- Ensure that costs are transparent
- Returns are made easy and fast
- Refunds are limited to five days!
- Return period should be extended
The future of e-commerce
Rather than robots and drones, the future of e-commerce lies in green shipping, flash delivery, and other minor innovations.
⭐ Climate change action was accelerated at COP26 in 2021 due to the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Simply put, large businesses must become environmentally friendly if they want to remain competitive. Therefore, business needs to prepare for the changes that are coming.
⭐ Another way to minimize the negative impact your packaging has on the environment is just to reduce its use. Too often, boxes are needlessly too large for the product, so why don’t you take a moment to consider the size of the boxes carefully?
⭐ Also, a new delivery trend is flash delivery. It refers to deliveries made within a few minutes, a few hours, and sometimes within 24 hours.
Boost your success
E-commerce success always requires flexibility and the ability to adjust the strategy to meet the needs of your customers.
The following are some final thoughts on what you should expect from your customers in 2023.
#1. Different countries have different shipping habits and expectations.
#2. A customer’s attitude is sympathetic and flexible.
#3. The importance of green and flash delivery cannot be overstated.
To stay competitive in e-commerce, you need to get familiar with these facts.
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