A Breakdown Of The Most Important Element Of Online Shopping

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With the online retailing experience taking massive strides over shopping in physical store locations, many consumers are met with more options than ever while shopping. Being able to view and compare a store’s products instead of having to circle around a store numerous times for different styles or sizes saves consumers a lot of extra time. This simplification of the way consumers shop online has contributed greatly to the growth of the online retailing industry. With nearly 2 billion people shopping online every year and contributing more than $3.5 trillion globally per year, it’s safe to say online retailing isn’t going anywhere.

The largest contributor to this online shopping phenomenon has indefinitely been Amazon. Amazon has changed the way that other retailers look at their online presence. Boasting over 13 million different product options, Amazon users have no shortage of options. Which is a huge benefit when you have nearly 200 million unique users visiting your marketplace platform every month. This sort of impact does not go unfelt by other online retailers in the industry. Amazon has set some unrealistic expectations for other online retailers to meet in order to retain their customers.

For online retailers that lack the resources that allow Amazon to ship and fulfill orders as quick as they do, this can be extremely bad news. Online retailers hoping to compete with Amazon should heed this expectation and look for alternative methods to increase their fulfillment and shipment speeds for their customers, in addition to finding more innovative ways to keep them happy. For example, a way that companies can accomplish this is through a branded shipment tracking page on their website.

With more and more people continuing to shop with Amazon online, their expectations for other online retailers continue to increase. For many retailers, these expectations are impossible to meet, and thus need to provide alternative ways to garner some sort of competitive advantage. A common way this is done is through shipment tracking pages on a retailer’s website. While the orders made might not be delivered as quickly, customers feel comfortable in knowing their order has been processed and can check the status of their order in real time on your site.

As mentioned previously regarding the importance of shipment speeds, customers prefer to receive their orders in a timely fashion, but even more important than that is the price associated with shipping. 70% of shoppers would rather wait a longer period of time for their shipment to arrive if it means that shipping would be free. If you know your shipment capabilities are lesser than your competitors, look for ways to decrease the shipment costs your customers pay as a result. One way this can be accomplished is through an automated storage and retrieval system that can help coordinate warehousing and transportation efforts more effectively. For more information on the types of systems enabling smaller businesses to attempt to keep up with Amazon, check out the featured infographic below.

Author bio: John Hinchey is VP of Sales for Westfalia Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of logistics solutions for plants, warehouses and distribution centers. He has more than 20 years of experience in manufacturing and warehouse automation.