How to manage your deliveries during the Holiday Season
The busiest season of the year is coming up. It is crucial for retailers to be prepared to meet customer expectations. As the e-commerce industry is growing, the expectations customers have towards retailers are becoming higher and harder to realize. Especially during peak season customers rely heavily on the delivery of presents, which is why delivery times often determine if customers will buy their presents at your store or somewhere else. Moreover, the holiday season is generally associated with a higher amount of purchases and thus more customer experiences that need to be optimized. Good or bad deliveries are a crucial part of the overall customer experience which will determine if the customer will purchase again at your store or not. Therefore, it is important to have your last-mile delivery in order and be critical concerning your delivery options so that the high demands can be met.
Four important factors for a carefree last-mile delivery during the Holiday Season:
1. Ability to scale your operations according to demand
Peak season is an opportunity to gain new customers, hence it is essential for the company's growth to be able to meet the increased demand before you can manage the holiday deliveries. Try to look for a flexible delivery partner that does not require long-term contracts with fixed delivery quantities, and has an easily scalable network.
2. Delivery speed and timing
As the old saying goes: “Time is money.”. Making sure that your orders are being delivered quickly makes it possible to serve more customers in a shorter period of time. This will not only result in more efficient deliveries but also in a greater amount of happy customers. It is therefore essential to ask your delivery partner about their average delivery time, what their delivery options are and what their delivery success rate is.
3. Ability to Plug & Play Instantly
There is a lot to handle during the season peak already, try to partner up delivery partners that can guarantee a quick and efficient integration. This saves time, helps you manage your holiday deliveries and operate from stores fast and effortlessly.
4. Possibility to offer Track and Trace
The Holidays are also a time for bigger, more personal purchases. Customers that are waiting for an important delivery appreciate a good track and trace system, especially when they are busy. They can plan around the estimated time of arrival of their order while managing the many other tasks that need to be done during the holiday season. Having a good track and trace system in place helps customers with their time management while allowing the retailer to deliver a top-level customer experience.
The Holiday Season is a great opportunity for retailers to increase revenues, gain new customers, and demonstrate top levels of customer experience. Delivery is an intrinsic part of the purchasing process, which due to high customer demands, is faced with top-level standards. Teaming up with a delivery partner that can easily scale, can offer fast delivery times, provide a plug & play possibility, and a reliable track and trace option will help you out to reach your high season targets.
Are you looking for a premium delivery partner that can help with your preparation for the peak season, so you can manage your holiday deliveries? Book a demo and let’s discuss the opportunities.