Report: Delivery Drives Consumer Holiday Retailer Decisions

A recent survey has revealed how important efficient delivery is for consumers – especially around the holidays.

The survey by Convey, a provider of cloud-based technology that helps shippers connect disparate data and processes from parcel to freight and first to last mile, featured the various delivery-related pain points consumers deal with around the holidays and beyond.

The research found that 40 percent of people said that delivery represents the single most decisive factor in the shopping experience. And those delivery issues definitely affect retailers, costing them more than $333 million over this year’s holiday shopping season, as well as another $1.5 billion of potential lost revenue from customers who no longer want to do business with a retailer after a bad shopping experience.

In addition, 58.6 percent of consumers complained that retailers were mediocre when it comes to last mile delivery, while 90 percent expect some form of action or compensation for missed promise-by dates. Customers are less tolerant of shipping and delivery issues, especially with Amazon leading the way in quick and reliable delivery.

“As consumers, Amazon has spoiled us all around expectations and a predictable and reliable delivery experience,” said Convey CEO Rob Taylor in an interview with Logistics Management. “Our focus on this – and why we really created the company – is that delivery and the fulfillment experience is the next battleground in retail.”

While the survey’s findings focus mainly on the holiday season, Taylor noted it is not just a seasonal problem.

“One thing that was evident in the research was that more people are sort of backing up their shopping to reduce the risk of a failed delivery experience,” said Taylor. “It speaks to how the delivery experience, in general, does not have predictability, and exception rates are high. So, people just don’t understand that if it is not great the rest of the year, then it is certainly going to be a challenge for the holidays, so that leads to shopping earlier.”