Why Retailers Need to Provide More Fulfillment Options

From buying online and picking up in store, to buying in store and shopping home, to same-day delivery and beyond, there’s no shortage of fulfillment options available to today’s consumers. But choosing the right options for your retail business is no easy feat. Boston Retail Partners recently conducted a survey of over 500 retailers that takes a deep look into today’s customer experience trends, including newer, sophisticated fulfillment options, and how this evolution is helping retailers enhance the customer experience.

Boston Retail Partners’ survey shows that along with consumers becoming more accustomed to shopping from anywhere and receiving items when and how they choose, the implementation of a variety of fulfillment options is becoming more common. However, in nearly every fulfillment option category (shown below), more than half of respondents who have implemented a fulfillment option said it needs improvement.

Perhaps this comes as no surprise, since implementing fulfillment options can mean putting processes in place that tend to be extremely manual and unscalable. Some retailers would rather offer limited fulfillment options than offer many and risk falling short on their promises.

That being said, in a recent study we conducted in February 2018, 53% of consumers stated that they’ve abandoned a purchase due to slow delivery times. And in a recent study from L2, they found that a quarter of consumers would abandon an online shopping cart specifically if same-day delivery wasn’t available. Those are numbers retailers simply can’t ignore.

So what are those 50% of retailers who have either implemented an unsatisfactory same-day delivery option or plan to implement a same-day delivery option in the next three years to do? In order to avoid common pitfalls, retailers must seek out fulfillment options and solutions that are easy for both retailers and their customers to use. Reducing manual processes that come with sophisticated fulfillment options will allow you to offer your customers a solution that’s convenient for them and hassle-free for you.

The good news is that achieving a same-day delivery option doesn’t have to be complicated. Dropoff offers an integrated approach to same-day delivery through our feature-rich API that seamlessly connects to your e-commerce platform, giving your customers fast delivery directly at checkout. This means no manual processes that you must train associates on, less mistakes, and happier customers.

We pride ourselves on our professional drivers who truly act as an extension of your team. They are insured, background-checked, wear uniforms and drive branded vehicles so you never have to worry about who is interacting with your customers. What’s more is that Dropoff has a 24/7/365 dedicated customer service team on standby to answer any and all of your questions that may come up. Track your deliveries on a live map and receive up-to-the-minute ETAs throughout the process, so you can stay “in the know” from start to finish.

Fast no longer means “in a few days,” but rather, “in a few hours.” Stay in front of the competition by offering customers a convenient and reliable same-day delivery option. Contact Dropoff today to learn more.