The Most Important Thing in Online Retail
The goal of any retailer should be to provide a good customer experience, so each customer keeps coming back again and again. In the world of e-commerce, the top factors in delivering a good customer experience all revolve around shipping, according to recent surveys from Avionos and project44, cited by eMarketer. While providing good value for consumers' spending is still important, customers seem to be putting more weight on the value of faster and easier shipping.
It's no wonder Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is investing billions in improving its shipping speeds, and increasing convenience for online shoppers. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is also working to speed up its delivery for online orders, and Target (NYSE: TGT) says its same-day fulfillment options are among the keys to its recent growth.
Consumers now expect practically instant delivery. This means that bigger retailers, with their wider distribution networks, stand at a huge advantage over smaller retailers, which have fewer brick-and-mortar locations and less leverage with delivery partners.
Source Fool.com
