The current digital era has led to the development of eCommerce. Many consumers prefer to shop online because of its convenience, speed, and ease. Also, you can get your products delivered to your doorstep without much hustle.
As online shopping gains momentum, e-commerce brands must streamline their logistics to ensure consumers get a great shopping experience. However, many e-commerce companies struggle to optimize their eCommerce logistics. This article offers five easy and practical tips for optimizing eCommerce logistics.
1. Use mobile-friendly technology
Research shows that mobile shopping is on the rise. More consumers are using their smartphones for shopping-related activities such as research, price comparisons, and purchases.
A Deloitte study in 2016 revealed that 93% of consumers use their phone for shopping. Also, 58% of consumers use their phones to browse a shopping website or app. Google Analytics reports that between June to September 2017, mobile devices were used to make more than 40% of online transactions.
In line with this, eCommerce enterprises must ensure that their websites and shopping carts are mobile-friendly to meet shoppers’ needs. A mobile-friendly site also ranks well on search engine results.
2. Embrace automation
Most forward-looking eCommerce businesses are embracing automation. Automation of eCommerce processes has positive outcomes for saving time, increasing efficiency, and reducing manual processes.
By automating sorting systems, for instance, a business owner gets numerous benefits. Some of them include cutting labor costs, reducing human errors, and improving traceability. ECommerce companies should also adopt technologies such as big data and AI to make their services faster and convenient.
3. Utilize numerous payment options
You can optimize your e-commerce logistics by utilizing numerous payment options. Do not restrict your customers to one or two payment options on your online store. Offer them multiple payments options so that they choose the one that appeals to them.
Having multiple payment options make it easy for customers to make purchases online and eCommerce businesses to receive these payments. Importantly, ensure that the payment options you choose are safe, reliable, and convenient. Third-party digital payment platforms like Google Pay and PayPal are a good place to start.
4. Enhance Customer Experience
Currently, consumers have more shopping options at their disposal than ever before. If your e-commerce business does not offer a seamless customer experience, the customer can get it elsewhere -from your competitor. Therefore, your online store must strive to give customers a great shopping experience to keep them coming back.
You can improve customer experience by offering excellent customer service, easier checkouts, and a personalized shopping journey. ECommerce brands can use chatbots to enhance communication with customers and provide exceptional customer service. Many online stores encounter a big challenge of cart abandonment. They can resolve the issue by simplifying the checkout process.
5. Streamline shipping
You can’t optimize your eCommerce logistics without streamlining shipping. Streamlining shipping improves customer service while enhancing your operations.
As consumer demand for same-day deliveries increases, online stores must strive for faster fulfillment. Currently, 64% of millennials are willing to make a purchase online if the store offers same-day delivery. Deliveries that initially took hours of preparation must be ready in minutes to meet customer expectations.
Amazon is setting the pace for streamlining delivery by using drones. Other futuristic delivery options include driverless vehicles and robots. Although drones and robots may not apply to all online stores, it challenges them to use unusual delivery methods to increase customer satisfaction. According to McKinsey, in the future, drones and driverless vehicles will deliver 78%of ordered items while traditional deliveries will deliver the remaining 20%.
Logistics is the lifeblood of an eCommerce business. It can either give you a competitive advantage over competitors or shutter your business. ECommerce brands must keep their logistics running smoothly to maximize customer experience and grow the business. This article presents five practical tips for optimizing eCommerce logistics. If your online business wants to improve its supply chain and increase the bottom line, these tips will help you.
