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The importance of Estimated Delivery Date during the holidays

Raksna Anand — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 10:56:14 +0000

Do you know what customers search for in the checkout page? It’s the estimated delivery date. Yes

45% of customers abandon their carts because of unsatisfactory delivery options.(shipbob)

It is important to provide your customers with accurate shipping information including estimated delivery date.

What is estimated delivery date?

46% of e-commerce customers prefer to know the ETA of their package before they place their order (timesofIndia)

An estimated delivery date is the exact date on which the package the customer has ordered would reach their doorstep. It depends on various factors such as the time taken for the product to be shipped, distance, preferred shipping method and transit time.

Imagine that a customer is shopping last minute for Christmas gifts for their loved one. In this case, the accurate delivery date plays an important role because the customer wants to know if the product will reach them on time. Hence, we recommend all e-commerce businesses to include estimated delivery dates in their product page and checkout page.

Why is estimated delivery date important?

1. Builds trust and authority

The primary goal of establishing the estimated delivery date is to build a trust and authority factor over the brand. Especially when the customer receives the product on time, it fosters a good customer experience. Estimated delivery date not only provides accurate information but also encloses professionalism. When all the satisfactions are met in terms of the product and when the product arrives on time, it sets the stage for retention.

2. Increases sales

When the customer sees the accurate delivery date and if it aligns with their timeline, it would definitely be a huge factor to nudge them to click that buy button. During the holiday season, especially when time is everything, an accurate delivery date could give them a picture of what they can expect. This also reduces the cart abandonment rate. The customer would be very excited, especially when there are faster shipping options. They will anticipate more to receive the order.

3. Reduce WISMO enquiries

An average customer visits the branded tracking page 6-8 times while the shipment is in transit. Customer anxiety runs high, especially during the holiday season. Providing an accurate delivery date can drastically reduce WISMO enquiries. It is not only about specifying an accurate delivery date, it is important that you mention the date on the branded tracking page.

Near-accurate EDD results in a 76% drop in WISMO calls, even in case of delayed deliveries. (Australiapost)

This way, customer support representatives can handle more pressing queries rather than focusing on WISMO enquiries.

4. Setting customer expectations right

A. Managing Anticipation: Customers will know when they will receive the order and when they can anticipate receiving their orders This sets clear expectations and rules against any uncertainties Especially during the holiday season when supply chain disruptions are really high, an estimated delivery date could be a game changer leading to customer satisfaction

B. Avoiding unpleasant surprises: Without the accurate delivery date, the customer would imagine that a certain product could be shipped in a certain date and if that doesn’t happen, it leads to frustration which in turn gives a very bad delivery experience affecting the brand’s perception. The customer will have a completely different perception of the brand from here on

C. Gift of Giving: Usually during the holiday season, customers plan on gifting their loved ones and if they do not know the estimated delivery date of when this would happen then they wouldn’t be able to make a certain plan leaving them hanging.

5. Reduces Porch piracy

Porch-piracy is an epidemic. With the explosive growing of e-commerce sales, package theft has become more prevalent, relevant than ever.

One in two Americans have had their package stolen. Now, in some states, package theft has moved from a conviction to a felony. Providing accurate delivery date and time can allow the customers to accommodate a specific time during the date collected packages from the delivery partner. Thus, accurate delivery date and time can save you a lot of money and prevent your customers from experiencing a bad moment.

Where to display the estimated delivery date?

Product page
Checkout page
Shopping cart page
Order confirmation page
Order confirmation email
Branded tracking page
Customer Account dashboard
Customer service page

Wrapping Up

In this ever-bustling world, brands need to adapt to certain strategies to stay relevant. Including estimated delivery dates is an important feature which plays a major role in pushing the customer towards clicking the buy button.

Most of the customers want their order to be delivered yesterday. In such cases, it is better to provide customers with shipping optionality. Shipping optionality is the feature to provide customers with multiple shipping options, varying from expedited shipping to eco-friendly shipping to standard shipping options. This way the customer has the freedom to choose when they want their product to be delivered. Most of the customers who choose expedited shipping options often are willing to pay extra to get the product shipped and delivered soon. Try conveying as much information and provide customers with as much shipping options as you can for a better customer experience.

The post The importance of Estimated Delivery Date during the holidays appeared first on Lateshipment.com.

How to Keep Customers Coming Back to Your eCommerce Website

Ian — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 10:08:21 +0000

The average conversion rate of eCommerce websites is 2.86%.

Yes, that’s a shockingly low amount of people buying at the first try. Even if you get a lot of new visitors – it might not cut it to make enough sales.

So instead of focusing on getting as many people as possible to come to your site, let’s look at luring visitors back in who you are more likely to seal the deal with.

Before we get into things, here are some ways to improve your conversion rates and grow your profits.

How to Hack Your Re-targeting Efforts

So, first things first. Someone came, saw, and didn’t shop. Don’t just let them go and move on to attracting new visitors just yet: you still might be able to convince them to complete their order. That’s where re-targeting comes in.

Maybe they simply need a reminder. Running re-targeting ads on social media could do the trick, but if you want to kick things up a notch, here are some techniques and tips to keep in mind.

Re-target those who leave the checkout page with a coupon

Someone makes it all the way to the checkout page, with something in their basket, but then leaves. How could they abandon their cart like that? It often has to do with the price: they simply want a sweeter deal.

You can entice them back by sending them a coupon or discount via re-targeting – either through the email address they left, or via social media. Create a sense of urgency around your offer by putting a time limit on it.

Don’t want to be too obvious? If you tie your offer to a current event, like a holiday, they won’t always connect the dots — that you are re-targeting them based on their activity on your website.

Re-target by your Google paid and organic search results

Your re-targeting is only effective on those who were sincerely interested in the first place. What level of shopping intent can you find in their behavior? What search terms did they use? Build your re-targeting campaigns around those terms for different targets.

Figure out who to actually re-target: it shouldn’t be everyone

Some people visited your website by mistake or were not really interested. Check these factors before you spend money on retargeting efforts:

How long are they staying on your website? Don’t bother retargeting people who spend only a few seconds on your homepage.
What pages have they looked at? Visitors who make it to case studies or reviews are more likely to eventually buy your product. They are really researching your offers—those who only browse the homepage, probably not.

Think Ahead

Why focus on customer retention, and not just increasing the number of new visitors? Surely, some of them will buy it on their first visit, right? Right. But returning customers can become influential online ambassadors for your organization. A truly loyal customer does more than paying for your products: he or she tells other people about you too.

Not only do returning customers have a higher Lifetime Value – obviously – they also bring in new business. And they are specified, and therefore easier (and cheaper) to get in touch with again.

The biggest drop off in customers occurs between the first and second purchase. So when you work on getting them to make that first purchase, you should already have the second one in mind.

Give a great first impression

Now, before you launch re-targeting ads, make sure you’ve done everything you can on your website to impress them on the first try. Maybe the issue wasn’t the price, but it occurred way before they even clicked a product.

Turning visitors into customers and customers into promoters is the ultimate goal of inbound marketing. For this to happen, you need to combine the right channels. Apart from re-marketing techniques, here are some sure-fire ways of keeping them coming back for more.

Create a Flawless User Experience

It’s all about the first impression: If their first visit is great, you’ve got one foot in the door to making them returning visitors and better yet — returning customers.

UX plays a big role in customer retention. If they can’t find what they’re looking for — even though it’s there, somewhere — or it takes ages, visitors won’t be back a second time around. One study found that a massive 88% of online visitors are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience.

Focus on how your website is being used and create a design and flow around that. When you understand the shopping intent of your visitors, you can create tailored shopping experiences. More about that later!

Find out how they navigate through your website and if there are any roadblocks. And make sure to keep an eye on the search queries. Those will show you what content or products to put in the spotlight.

Deliver great customer service

We all need a little help sometimes. An FAQ page is the bare minimum. If you see a lot of visitors navigating there, it could pay to invest in a chat robot. With just a few keywords, they will easily find what they are looking for: a delightful experience. And you get to understand any issues with your website or products better through the convos in there. Win-win.

Make It Personal

Personalization has proven to work for customer retention: It’s easy to get lost in the big wide web. Landing on a web page that seems like it was made just for you feels like coming home. Create customized landing pages based on visitors’ previous behavior or visits, and suggest relevant content and products.

Offering personalized services or offers pays off: 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands who recognize what they truly need and provide personalized and relevant offers and product recommendations.

Keep Your Content Updated and Fun

How to keep things spicy, even after a while? Use (interactive) content people can engage with to create unique experiences every time they stop by. And make sure visitors instantly see what’s new.

Interactive content and gamification

Instead of only displaying what you have to offer, ask your visitors something about themselves too. You can do this through a quiz, in which they can find out what products they really need by answering fun or personal questions. That’s way more engaging and helpful than having to click through categories.

Product recommendations made fun, by Beardbrand. Quiz made with Typeform

Sneak in some lead generation

Another benefit of this kind of content, is that you can use it for lead generation. A simple ‘sign up for our newsletter’ button on the bottom of your website won’t convince many.

Through gamification, you can actually give something in return (which is more than a weekly newsletter). Want personalized advice? Take this test, and we’ll email you your results!

Keep things fresh

Make sure to regularly update your content. If you want visitors to come back, you have to keep in mind there has to be a reason to come back: something new. A new blog revolving around popular search terms could do the trick, and helps your SEO too.

Reward Loyal Visitors and Customers

We all want to belong somewhere. Some people appeal to the idea of a community – especially if it’s one that will save you money.

When you succeed in converting them the first time, you shouldn’t stop there. Implement a loyalty program, give discounts, or provide premium features for those who make an account to keep ‘em coming back.

Give it a second try

Even if it’s not love at first sight, it doesn’t mean it couldn’t turn into something great. Work on getting customers to come back, and you’ll increase their Lifetime Value, while being able to cut back on marketing costs.

This article is a guest contribution by Fergus Taylor, a Content Specialist at Typeform.

A Little about LateShipment.com

LateShipment.com is the world’s only logistics cloud tool that helps businesses of every size reduce shipping costs by up to 20% and provide memorable delivery experiences to customers at scale.

At LateShipment.com, our focus has remained steadfastly on the last mile, typically the part of the logistics chain that is the most opaque.

Some of our high-impact offerings are :

Save up to 20% on Shipping – Automatically audit your shipping carriers’ invoices and recover refunds for 50+ service failures & billing errors including late deliveries.
Real-Time Visibility – Monitor your outbound & inbound shipments across multiple shipping carriers on a centralized window, in real-time.
Critical Delivery Alerts – Pay attention to daily deliveries with predictive delay alerts and more on a purpose-built dashboard for support reps.
Proactive Issue Resolution – Proactively communicate with customers to prevent them from having bad experiences due to delivery failures.
Custom Delivery Notifications – Send custom or automated delivery status notifications for events like “shipped,” “attempted,” & “delivered.”
Branded Tracking Pages – Build fully-customizable order tracking pages for your customers to improve brand recall and sales.

The best part is, it takes less than 2 minutes to see LateShipment.com in action.

The value we add to businesses is most evident when experienced first-hand. Try LateShipment.com now.

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