We all know how important it is for retailers to provide a great customer experience. I’ve written many articles on customer experience, from the importance of frictionless checkout to the importance of the in-store experience in driving up sales.
Generally, these are based on my discussions with retailers around the globe, and their experiences. But this time I’m going to tell you about my own recent shopping story, and the message it drove home to me about speed of delivery as part of a positive customer online shopping experience.
I live in Sydney, Australia, and as I write, we’re still very much in lockdown. Like millions of others confined to their homes throughout the world, one of the things that means for me is more time to indulge in home cooking and baking.
I was planning to make one of my favourite recipes, but when I got out my blender and plugged it in…nothing. With my blender kaput I was stuck.
So, I went online to find a new one – with my primary requirement being to find a retailer who had it available for pickup or delivery asap. I found exactly what I wanted. A retailer who not only had a blender that would do the job but who offered me two very speedy ways to get it: Same day delivery to my home, or click and collect within 30 minutes of placing my order.
Keen to get started on my cooking, I chose the click and collect option. Half an hour after placing my order, I was at the store – and to my great delight, they delivered it direct to my boot.
Within an hour of ordering, I was at home, blending ingredients and I hadn’t even had to get out of the car!
As we know, happy customers tell others about their shopping experience, so here I am, putting my experience down in writing. The experience I had with that particular retailer was outstanding. It reminded me just how very important it is to think about every single aspect of the customer journey and experience. It brought home how every customer has different priorities and smart retailers need to understand this and cater for customer demand. I was not being highly price sensitive when I shopped for my blender, I didn’t need a broad range of brands and choices, I just needed fast collection. And that’s what I got.
So, when you’re thinking about customer experience, do think about every aspect, and how you can make each step as smooth, frictionless and easy as possible for the customer. A simple to navigate online store, a range of delivery and collection options, allowing fulfilment from the store rather than a warehouse – these all played a part in my great experience. These are all operational practices that all retailers can implement.
So as you plan your customer experience, do think of me and my blender, and plan your retail operation so that you can deliver – fast.
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