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Editor’s note: This story is part of a series highlighting takeaways from a May 7 event hosted by Retail Dive and Supply Chain Dive. Register here to watch the replay on demand.
Clear communication and on-time delivery are a bigger driver of buyer satisfaction than speed, executives said at Supply Chain Dive and Retail Dive’s live event on May 7, “The state of e-commerce delivery.”
Mattress-maker Purple Innovation does not differentiate itself by delivering beds in a day or two, like Amazon. COO Eric Haynor said. Instead, the company ensures on-time delivery.
“You've got to hit your promise, because people are scheduling their work around being there to open the door and let you in,” Haynor said.
Fulfillment services provider Cart.com also doesn’t view speed as an “end in and of itself,” said co-founder and Chief Growth Officer Remington Tonar.
Retailers should tailor delivery options to the customer, the executives said. Purple's seven-to-10-day lead time works for its customers, but retailers selling smaller and less bulky goods might have to shorten the time for that last-mile delivery.
Customers are willing to pay for reliability in delivery regardless of the timeframe, Haynor said. Meeting that expectation requires building customer trust.
“I think the Holy Grail is communication, visibility, and doing what you said you were going to do," Haynor said. "Speed matters, and having a speed option will help you, but, really, I think the communication and visibility is the path to righteousness and glory here.”
Visibility to Cart.com means selling brands and retailers software that tracks inventory from warehouses to last-mile delivery. The latter is what the retail customer also wants to see.
“We're always trying to think about how do we use technology to enable that visibility and transparency,” Tonar said.
People are now accustomed to digitally tracking food deliveries from restaurant to home — visibility that could soon be expected in retail deliveries.
“You know, as consumers become more accustomed to being able to see where their food is in real time, will that also start spilling over into their expectations for products as well? Maybe, maybe not,” he said.
Today, reliable delivery often depends on a combination of online and brick-and-mortar stores, the executives said.
“I think it just allows brands and retailers to be more agile, more responsive, and meet the expectations of their consumers more frequently,” Tonar said.