Fulfilling the Christmas rush
Sue Randall, business development manager, Orbital Response and Fulfilment, examines consumers’ online shopping habits in the run up to Christmas…
If you listen to digital media analysts, every year promises the ‘biggest e-commerce Christmas’ since online retail began in earnest. The 2008 festive season is likely to prove no exception, with consumers predicted to save time and shop for bargains on the web in even greater numbers than previous years.
Just like conventional high-street stores, online retailers must place customer loyalty at the heart of their business strategy. In reality, this is probably harder and more complex for e-tailers because a consumer can leave a high-street store carrying their purchase, but someone ordering from an online retailer leaves the sourcing and delivery of the item in the hands of others. To create ongoing and fruitful relationships, every part of the ordering, despatch and fulfilment process must be optimised to provide the consumer with their purchase exactly as requested.
This process starts with the catalogue. Businesses must ensure that their catalogue is delivered to the correct recipients and in the time period desired. Whether this comes as a result of a telephone call into a contact centre or an enquiry through a brand’s website, the result must be the same.
The value of catalogues must not be dismissed in this day and age. Although online retailing continues to grow in popularity, Royal Mail’s recently published Home Shopping Tracker Study 2008 highlights the importance of catalogues to this area of retail. The research states that 54% of all adults use catalogues either to buy directly or help with online or in-store purchases, and when looking specifically at the 16-to 34-year-old market this rises to over 62%. Furthermore, using a catalogue results in an uplift in spending: 37% of shoppers who consulted one before online shopping spent 13% more than those who did not. A great deal of the decision making process is made through the use of a catalogue. Consumers like to leisurely browse through a catalogue in the comfort of their own home prior to making a purchase.
So what does this mean for brands, especially at Christmas? The answer is simple; make sure consumers’ ability to get a catalogue is quick and easy and that your fulfilment is spot on, with enough stock in place to meet the demand. This extends to ensuring that the relevant catalogues are in place long before the Christmas shopping madness descends. Planning well in advance is key.
As the aforementioned statistics prove, catalogues are still a vital way for brands to up their income; therefore fulfilment and delivery to the consumers must not be overlooked – especially as December 25th looms.
An experienced outsourced provider is essential to make this process run smoothly and offer invaluable advice to brands around the Christmas rush. Brands must understand the market that they are operating in. Christmas brings with it a deluge of shoppers, all eager to ensure their chosen products are delivered to the intended recipients to make the special day exactly that.
It’s important to recognise there is a lack of consistency with shopping habits at this time of year. Whilst some consumers start early and order well in advance, there are other shoppers who wait until the very last minute. Even so, these shoppers often expect their products to be delivered ‘yesterday’. The onus is on brands to ensure that this happens and, with e-commerce websites experiencing a 30% rise in orders at Christmas time, it is essential that online retailers have the necessary stock within their outsourced warehouses, and that their outsourced partner has the capacity and capability to deal with any spike in sales, however big or small. To avoid disappointment during the Christmas period, brands must make the consumer aware of the last day that they can place an order for goods to be received before Christmas day.
Having taken all this into consideration, it is evident that brands must not treat fulfilment as an afterthought. So often the focus is taken away from this vital function in the consumer’s online journey, but in reality it is just as important as any other. People can forgive a slightly tricky website interface, or the fact that they cannot place an order with a human being. What they cannot abide is their purchase turning up damaged, or late, or not at all.
Christmas is a critical time for businesses. More people shop at Christmas than at any other time, especially with the rise of online shopping. If something goes wrong with the order, the special day is ruined and the relationship between brand and consumer will be over. There isn’t a more powerful message than that to ensure that brands are as watertight as possible. Christmas could be the start of a life-long relationship for brands, and they must not let that opportunity slip through their fingers.