Consumers rate shipment-to-delivery package tracking as the most important online ordering feature
New research from Verte, the supply chain that thinks, shows that consumers rate package tracking from shipment to delivery as the most important feature when ordering online. The research also reveals that almost all consumers actively track their packages – with nearly a fifth of consumers tracking their packages multiple times a day.
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“Customers are obsessed with tracking their packages, so real-time visibility into retailer supply chains is more important than ever”
This research is based on a national survey of more than 1,000 American consumers. Verte commissioned the survey, which Propeller Insights executed in March of this year.
“Customers are obsessed with tracking their packages, so real-time visibility into retailer supply chains is more important than ever,” said Yifat Baror, chief growth officer at Verte. “Our research reveals that a whopping 91% of consumers actively track their packages, 39% track them once a day, and 19% of Americans track their packages multiple times each day.”
The research also highlights a significant consumer preference for checking tracking information themselves as opposed to reaching out to customer service or a shipping company for assistance on the status of their orders and deliveries. According to the survey, 70% of American consumers would rather continue to check tracking information than connect with customer service or the shipping company if their product shipment is delayed.
But consumers clearly don’t like to wait, and most give retailers a short window of grace when it comes to delayed packages. More than 58% said that they believe two to six days past the expected delivery date is too long. More than a fifth (21%) are even harsher, saying that one day past the expected delivery is too much of a delay when waiting for a package. Only 6% of consumers said that they will tolerate situations in which a package is more than a week late.
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Expectations are high when it comes to package tracking, too. The vast majority (82%) of Americans said that they have high or very high expectations for accurate delivery information when tracking their packages through an app. When it comes to retailers and shipping companies reaching out with package updates, Americans prefer text (38%) to email (30%).
“Supply chain transparency enables organizations to address growing customer expectations, tackle inefficiencies and gain insights to drive on-time performance, predictability and sustainability,” said Baror. “Our data-first approach provides businesses with the insights that they need to limit supply chain risks and make informed decisions in real time using automated exception detection, dynamic estimated time of arrival information, and proactive alerts.”
The Verte platform also provides retailers visibility into each return and delivers a unified view of returns across sales channels and warehouses so that retailers can efficiently make decisions, prioritize and manage returns, and plan their next season’s inventory. This helps businesses limit their losses from the inevitable markdowns that can result in product value erosion.
“The product journey, consumer experience and retention are critical and complex,” added Baror. “But organizations can use automated tools to strengthen the end-to-end supply chain.”