Why traders should support elderly and vulnerable people online

What are the shopping habits of elderly and vulnerable people?

This group of shoppers will traditionally have shopped offline before the emergence of Covid-19. However, the pandemic has forced them to adjust their shopping habits and many of them will remain loyal to online retail even after Corona.

Further, online shopping is a new concept for many of them and they are yet to get used to it. It may be the first time they buy their essential goods online and it is likely that many who fall into this demographic are used to having a caregiver, a friendly neighbour or family member around to help them with any digital problems or challenges. Therefore, online retailers now need to take steps to help them with as well as after their purchase if they also want to retain this group of shoppers in the long term - and they certainly do.


What have retailers done so far to support older and vulnerable people during the pandemic?

Many retailers have already invested quite a bit to help shoppers during the corona crisis. New measures include, extended return periods, a range of alternative delivery options and updates to their websites to make them more user-friendly and easier to navigate.

But this is only one piece of the puzzle. There is a whole other piece that fills the gap to make the customer journey easy and enjoyable: post-purchase communication.

What do retailers need to do to better assist older and vulnerable people?

Online retailers need to help at-risk groups navigate these new digital processes.

This includes:

• The pre-purchase stage to help them find what they need as easily as possible
• The actual time of purchase
• The post-purchase stage, such as contact and delivery information

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Most importantly, older and vulnerable people, more than anyone else, want to know where their parcel is at any given time and when it is likely to be delivered. This includes unforeseen delivery delays and difficulties, especially when it comes to vital goods such as medicines or food.

Post-sales communication is crucial

Online retailers need to stay in touch with their customers throughout the delivery process. They should keep them regularly updated on the status of their order in real time. These messages should be sent directly via email or text message, without customers having to navigate through a series of complicated web links and pages. Post-sales communication should be proactive, personalised and reliably managed by the retailer itself.

Invest in the Operations Experience (OX)

By investing in an optimal Operations Experience (OX), retailers can offer their new target group the best possible customer experience. How does this work exactly? By taking control of the communication themselves and not handing it over to third-party providers like DHL, Hermes & Co.

As a result, retailers can:

• Proactively send emails/SMS in real time so that the customer always knows where their parcel is
• Communicate in their own branding so that there is no confusion about who the shipment in question is from
• Navigate their customers to a track & trace page hosted in their own ecosystem so that they can easily buy back directly

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Read more about which five customer touchpoints increase repurchase rates here:

Go one step further and offer them expert advice and tips on how to use the new product they've just bought - such as videos, how-to guides or recipe ideas. Such feel-good content helps build a sense of community that many will crave during this time of isolation.

Conclusion

The key message is to communicate, communicate, communicate! It's all about building customer trust and reducing the number of shipping-related customer service requests. If online retailers offer these new or first-time customers an exceptional customer experience and show them how uncomplicated online shopping can be, then at best they can break habits and ensure that this group of buyers will also shop online in the future.

How can parcelLab help online retailers?

parcelLab is the leading platform for operations experience. Contact us to find out how we can help you take control of your communications and provide your customers with both a consistently excellent brand experience and the best possible customer experience at all times.