Online retail customers are being won and lost on the quality of parcel delivery and returnsservices, according to British B2C specialist Collect+.
CEO Mark Lewis told last week’s ‘The Future of UK Postal Services’ conference: “We all know thatwe can now go online and find almost anything. But customers are aware that after they find theproduct, it can all go wrong. About one in 10 online retail purchases do not happen first time,with ‘not-at-home’ the main reason – 62% of the time.”
In surveys, 44% of online retail customers say delivery concerns have stopped them from making apurchase, which costs money for retailers – the potential customers of parcel delivery companies,Lewis reported. “And returns are even more painful – 58% have stopped shopping with a retailerafter a poor returns experience.”
Lewis said his company’s experience was that customers are prepared to reward retailers thatprovide them with higher quality delivery and returns services. “The facts are pretty wellestablished now, that delivery is a real opportunity to serve the customer better, and retailersare beginning to see that getting returns right is a key part of customer retention. Retailcustomers using Collect+ for returns are 17% more likely to repeat trade than non-users,” heclaimed. Customer behaviour statistics indicate that 30% of customers check on the retailer’sreturns policy as part of the buying process, Lewis added.
The Collect+ model uses a network of 3,500 local stores that open early and close late to allowcustomers to collect and receive parcels outside of normal business hours. Some are open 24 hours aday. Returns are made easy by including all the necessary labels and packaging. Founded in February2009, Collect+ began by providing returns services for brands such as Littlewoods, Very andWoolworths, and claims to have shipped over half a million parcels since its launch. Its parcelsare transported by Yodel (formerly HDN).
Lewis said Collect+ now worked with a lot of retailers, particularly within the fashionindustry, which had always valued the returns process. “Returns make up 30% of fashion retailers’business, and with online retail, your living room is the fitting room,” he said. “What we find isthat when a retailer starts to offer our returns service, customers change their behaviour reallyquickly – for example, within around a week.”
Lewis said the Collect+ returns service meant goods got back to retailers, on average, 24 hoursearlier. He added: “Getting the stock back a day earlier, so that they can sell it again, is a veryvaluable proposition, especially for a fashion retailer, where the product has a relatively limitedlife cycle.”
Lewis said many of the current parcel delivery offerings on the market were driving frustrationand losing customers, and that customers voted with their feet when offered better services.
