One in three Aussies will abandon a retailer over poor delivery

In an online retail landscape where small businesses are now competing with both Amazon and eBay on local turf, new research out today quantifies how crucial it is to get the delivery experience right for your customers.

According to research commissioned by delivery platform Zoom2u, one in three Australians say they’ve chosen not to re-order products from a company because of a poor delivery experience.

The research, which is based on a survey of more than 1000 shoppers in June, found those in the 26 to 33-year-old bracket are the least likely to go back to a retailer after a poor delivery experience (41%), followed by those aged between 18 and 25 (39%), and those aged between 42 and 49 years (36%).  

The majority of Australians have had a disappointing delivery experience with at least one company (65%), while one in 10 say they are regularly disappointed.

“The fact that over 20% of Australian companies have lost sales due to offering a disappointing delivery service highlights how important it is to get it right after the product has left the store, or risk damaging brand reputation and further loyalty,” said Zoom2u founder and chief executive Steve Orenstein.

The research adds to a growing body of evidence for SMEs about the importance of delivery when it comes to how shoppers make purchasing decisions online.

This also includes the information they’re given about delivery options before they click the all-important ‘buy’ button.

Writing for SmartCompany in May, Morris Bryant from digital marketing agency Sparro explained how the process of viewing a shopping page on a website also influences shopping habits.

Sparro’s research found users who access a shipping or delivery page on a retailer’s website convert to buy at least 2.67 times the rate of a user that doesn’t.

The same research found a quarter of the top 20 e-commerce sites in Australia don’t have a dedicated page for shipping or delivery information.

“The brands that don’t show shipping clearly across their sites are waiting for users to eventually make it to the cart or checkout page to calculate shopping options,” wrote Bryant.

“But in a shopping environment where users are well-researched and shipping is as important as pricing, is it worth risking that users will make it this far?”

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