Welcome to the first installment of a new blog series for our annual #StateOfShipping reports. In 2016, total global retail sales reached $22.049 trillion, and in 2020 it’s estimated to top $27 trillion. As online retail continues to blaze around the world, it’s important to know what you can do to leverage this growth. For our annual State of Shipping in Commerce report we surveyed retailers and shoppers in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and France, in collaboration with our research partner, Research Now, to help you do just this.
Key findings:
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Increasing gap between consumer expectations and retailer capabilities lead to shipping-related cart abandonment.
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Consumers desire for a seamless shopping experience includes shipping options that are convenient to them.
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While consumer expectations for shipping options differ based on different demographics, they commonly seek shipping services that prove to be of good value - be it if it’s free or fast have different expectations when it comes to shipping.
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Many retailers are still juggling with issues such as shipping and fulfillment automation and rising carrier costs, which makes providing CX-rich shipping experiences a challenge.
The report is full of other interesting findings that bring to light the challenges that are preventing retailers and merchants from realising their full potential. Poor practices are adding friction in fulfillment and to the customer’s journey. As a result, retailers are failing to meet the expectations of today’s savvy shoppers.
The report also shows that shipping has a lasting impact to customer lifetime value (CLV). With shipping concluding an online purchase, a negative experience here will discourage over half of shoppers from shipping with that retailer again. On the other end,
74% of shoppers will buy again from a retailer that provided an enjoyable shipping experience.
The impact of shipping and fulfillment on commerce is significant; it affects profit margin and revenue, operational efficiencies, brand and customer experience.
Download the full State of Shipping in Commerce 2017 report here for more insights to help you improve your business, or contact us to find out how our shipping software can drive growth for your business. Reports are available for the following countries: US, UK and AU, with FR coming soon.
In our 2nd #StateOfShipping blog, we’ll be exploring the reason people are shopping more online.
