Near the end of last month I ordered something from a Shopify store. It shipped with a 5-7 business day delivery but was stuck in the "label created, waiting on package" for a week. The store marked it shipped in Shopify a week before their carrier received it.
It's now crossing the US to get delivered and has missed the trailer twice already.
Being in the industry, I know there's shipping delays but not every customer knows that. If they ordered something, are told it was shipped, but then hasn't even been picked up by the time it was supposed to be delivered, that's going to be a customer service issue at the very least.
Which means this customer is already having a bad experience.
Which means this customer might be second-guessing their purchase.
Which means this customer might already be defecting and deciding to shop elsewhere next time. Or even canceling their order and going to a competitor.
Especially if a competitor is Amazon who can promise same-day delivery.
It doesn't matter how good your marketing is, your customer acquisition doesn't end when the order is placed. It's when the customer is satisfied with their order.
Are you struggling to grow your repeat purchases because your customers are defecting? Use Repeat Customer Insights to find out where in their lifecycle you're losing them. Is it their first order, second, or later orders where they decide to go elsewhere?
Eric Davis
P.S. Plus if you do some form of marketing automation that schedules its emails and communications based on the order or shipping dates, there's a real risk you're marketing to the customer while they are wondering where their package is.
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