Multichannel buying preference research

What do consumers want in terms of delivery when they buy online?

Tis the season for e-commerce. Black Friday and cyber Monday are on the near-horizon, and with them the general peak in sales that accompanies the run up to Christmas. e-commerces sales are expected to account for some $1.6 trillion worth of purchases this year. There are a vast variety of things you need to get right to run a successful e-commerce store. Good products, strong SEO, a responsive site, flexible payment options, the list goes on. However, one aspect of e-commerce that is often over-looked yet has a major impact on sales is delivery options. This recent report from MetaPack focusing on consumer Ecommerce-retail delivery preferences gives marketers useful data on the effect of delivery options on purchase decisions.

Preferences for where to deliver to?

Delivery to the home remains the most popular option among all age groups, but providing other options can help pick up additional customers, particularly those between 18 and 38. Pick up in store and delivery to a local shop are popular with approximately 1 in 3 customers under the age of 52.

Providing options

Delivery options are important to consumers. The graphs below show that a vast majority of people expect to see delivery options displayed on the product page. This is true for all age groups, but particularly the 18-52 market.

Increasing customer lifespan

In case you were doubting how important delivery options were for sales, a considerable majority of people had chosen one retailer over another because they provided more delivery options.

A positive delivery experience is also critical to retaining customers. On average 95.5% of customers say they would shop more with a retailer if their delivery experience was positive. So make sure to dispatch items on time and make the expected dates clear so that customers are not confused or disappointed by how long a delivery takes.

Get social

People who have positive delivery experience are highly likely to share those experiences on social media, which can be a great way to draw in new customers at minimal cost. Over half of 18-34 year olds report that they would put a positive delivery experience on social media. But this also has a flip side. Customers are also are likely to report a bad delivery experience on social media (although luckily slightly less likely than a good one) which again demonstrates the importance of getting delivery right and being honest and upfront with customers so they are not disappointed.

Don't ignore your customers

When you do receive negative social media reviews, ignoring the customer is usually the very worst thing to do. It leaves others to see that the problem the customer was not resolved, where as an apology or refunding goods shows others you care about your customers and thus won't put other people off using your services.

For more information on the effects of delivery options on retail/ecommerce sales, see the full research report from MetaPack.

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