In today’s fast-paced world of eCommerce, the ability to understand and adapt to customers’ evolving expectations is vital to driving business growth. This was the central topic of a recent webinar delivered by Starshipit, where industry thought leaders unpacked trends and actionable strategies to enhance delivery and fulfilment processes.
If you didn’t get a chance to join the webinar, we’ve pulled together the highlights so you can still take advantage of the tips shared by Sendle’s Managing Director, Laura Hill, Geoff Luyk from Starshipit, and James Fisher from Rendr.
"Evolving Expectations - Unboxing 2024 Shipping Trends for Leading Retailers" webinar was packed with practical tips that businesses can use to take their customer experience to the next level.
Starshipit webinar video with guests from Rendr and Sendle.
Off the back of Starshipit’s Evolving Expectations report, the live panel discussion delved into the latest shipping trends shaping retail and offered insights on how businesses can elevate their delivery experience. Understanding the ever-changing landscape of customer expectations is crucial for nurturing loyalty while maintaining operational efficiency.
Here's a summary of the main takeaways from the webinar.
Utilise stores as micro fulfilment centres
There’s a growing trend among retailers to leverage their stores as micro fulfilment centres enabling quicker order processing and delivery times. With 85% of buyers indicating that a poor delivery experience would deter them from shopping with a retailer again, the pressure for swift and free delivery is evident. Being closer to the end customer drives last mile delivery efficiency while also driving cost savings by leveraging existing retail space. For customers this provides more delivery choice and opens up even faster delivery services.
~ James Fisher, Director and Co-Founder of Rendr
Evaluate pricing as a means of cost management
Pricing plays a vital role in businesses today, according to Sendle’s Laura Hill. Business owners are worried about slowing customer demand due to cost pressures, which is one of the findings in our 2024 Small Business Survey: 41% of businesses are evaluating their pricing as a means of managing rising costs.
But it isn’t just the business owners who are looking for cost savings when it comes to shipping. There’s a lot of buyers looking for affordable shipping, which is also a main driver for cart abandonment. When shipping costs are too high , they're more likely to abandon their purchase and not proceed to checkout.
This is why more businesses (58%) are looking into offering free shipping with minimum spends. Such a strategy may be effective in converting those customers. Laura also highlights a very important behaviour: if people are willing to pay for their delivery services, they will expect services to be reliable and transparent.
Ship smarter and greener
As Australia's first 100% carbon-neutral shipper, Sendle is dedicated to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040. Laura echoed this commitment, emphasising the significant role of sustainability in shipping.
~ Laura Hill, Managing Director for Sendle
According to findings from Sendle’s SMB survey, 32% of customers said sustainability is a high priority for their business. Laura shared some tips on how businesses can introduce sustainable practices into their business, these include:
- Optimise packaging size: Maximise the use of space within each parcel to minimise packaging waste and reduce the need for excess materials.
- Reduce air shipments: Opt for alternative modes of transportation whenever feasible to decrease overall carbon emissions and environmental impact.
- Find ways to minimise returns: Returns not only result in additional transportation emissions but also contribute to packaging waste and resource depletion.
- Choose sustainable packaging: With 82% of SMBs planning to embrace sustainable packaging in the next 6 months, consider options like Sendle's Compostable or POLLAST!C satchels to support your sustainability efforts.
- Find ways to reduce the carbon emitted by your business: Start by calculating your business's carbon footprint with Greener, the all-in-one sustainability platform that helps you save money while reducing emissions.
As a company committed to becoming net zero and taking accountability for carbon emissions along the way, Sendle has offset approximately 54 billion kilometres of global delivery.
Adopt multi-carrier strategies to ship faster and cheaper
Customer demand for faster delivery is driving retailers to adopt multi-carrier strategies to achieve operational efficiencies and improve customer experience. Multi-carrier strategies allow businesses to manage their shipping costs and offer shipping choice to their customers. In fact, Sendle’s survey results show 53% of businesses use more than one carrier to get the best price. Ultimately, a multi carrier strategy drives a better delivery service for customers because businesses can diversify delivery options, ensuring their customers get their orders as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Keep shipping simple and transparent for customers
There’s more to it than just speed. To provide a good customer experience, it’s important that retailers offer affordable, reliable, and simple shipping.
Give them options, like multiple delivery choices at checkout. Be clear and upfront about delivery times and costs. Send out clear and easy-to-understand communications to help set their expectations. Once businesses are able to do that, customer satisfaction increases.
“Customers don't want to be put in a corner! They want to have a choice, and that choice can be really simple.”
~ Geoff Luyk, Head of Customer Success at Starshipit
Want all the insights? Watch the full webinar here.
