E-commerce from the customer's point of view - tips for online stores

For our study "E-Commerce from the Customer's Perspective," we asked more than 2,000 shoppers what their needs and requirements are when shopping online.

Here you can find the results of the survey:

What do customers really want?

What do customers really care about when shopping online? What do you need to do to make your customers feel completely comfortable?

We got to the bottom of this and conducted an extensive survey to find out in which areas online stores need optimization.
The partly surprising result: Many retailers apparently don't know exactly what their customers want, act in the wrong direction and thus miss many opportunities that they could optimally use for up- and cross-selling.

1. The selection of the logistician

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What do you think?
Would customers like to be able to choose between different logistics providers, such as DHL, Hermes or DPD, when delivering their order?

A resounding "yes"
41% of online shoppers would always like to be able to decide for themselves who delivers their parcel to them. Simply to be able to ensure that the parcel also arrives or that the next parcel store is within reach.

2. The shipping communication

What information do customers want to receive during shipping?

Here, a full 68% of respondents said they wanted to be informed about delivery delays.

And let's be honest, do you inform your customers about a delay? Or when was the last time you received an email with an apology that your order will be shipped a day later?
Probably both rather rare. But at the same time, this avoidably negative touchpoint offers unimagined opportunities to take your operations experience, and thus customer loyalty, to the next level.

In addition, a message is of great importance to a further 67% when the order is shipped. When a return is received, 56% of consumers want to receive a message.

3. The submission of merchant reviews

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In what cases do customers write merchant reviews? What do you think?

35% of respondents give a review if the product met or exceeded their expectations.
If the overall experience from ordering to possible return was positive, 31% of shoppers let the merchant know.

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Now you've hopefully learned a little about what customers want and what really matters to them.

The question now is how online retailers can best optimize these points to offer their customers an all-around positive shopping experience. What recommendations for action can now be derived on the basis of customer wishes?

Here are three tips that retailers can use to turn one-time shoppers into loyal existing customers:

1. Leave customers freedom of choice when selecting the logistics provider

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• Reliable delivery is extremely important to end customers

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• By giving customers a choice here, you pass on some of the responsibility to the customer while giving them a positive feeling

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2. Communicate status information about the broadcast

• Customers want to know about the status of their shipment - even if it might be negative at times

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• Honest information about a possible delivery delay is perceived as particularly important, even positive

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3. Use the power of customer reviews

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• By collecting feedback, you can tell early on which services are well received and which are not

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• Retailer reviews on platforms like Trusted Shops, Trust Pilot or Google influence future purchasing decisions

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Want more tips?
You want to know in more detail what more than 2,000 consumers have answered?
Then just download our study "E-commerce from the customer's point of view".

Questions? Suggestions?
Would you like to receive even more information?
Then we look forward to hearing from you! Just email me at corinna@parcellab.com
I look forward to sharing with you!