Enhancing the Last Mile for Retail Customer Satisfaction

Buying goods online is now easier than ever before — but customers expect a smooth shopping experience at every step.

The e-commerce industry is growing at a rate of about 20 percent per year. In fact, it’s estimated that this year alone, it will account for $1.0 trillion in the United States.

But how often do you hear customers complaining about slow delivery times or poor customer service? The answer is probably too often. If you want to improve customer satisfaction, then you should focus on improving the last-mile experience.

In 2022, customers expect to receive their goods in perfect condition, as fast as possible, and to know exactly when they’ll arrive. As a retailer, that means you need to spend more money and time on delivery management to create a positive customer experience.

Last-mile technology, like route planning apps, allow you to spend more time connecting with customers and building customer loyalty.

Get a Route Planning App to Optimize Delivery

Customers make purchases online because it's convenient and it saves them time. After all, it's always easier to click a few buttons than to travel to a mall or retail store.

However, that convenience must go hand in hand with timely deliveries.

These days, it's not just about getting products from point A to point B. It's also essential that your delivery arrives on time and in the right location. If you make customers wait too long to get their goods, it offsets the convenience of buying online; damaging both customer retention and your brand reputation.

That's where route-planning apps come in.

This technology uses route optimiza­tion to give shorter, more effi­cient routes to your drivers. This helps to ensure that deliveries are made correctly, on time, and at the right location — all while reducing fuel costs, the chance for human error, customer complaints, and time on the road.

Implement Accountability Systems

If you want to optimize any aspect of your e-commerce operation, you'll need to start tracking the right metrics. For deliveries, that means being able to measure. For any business, the most important metrics are those that measure your success.

For e-commerce operations, this means being able to track and analyze deliveries so you can optimize everything from how often packages are shipped out, what time of day they're delivered (or not), whether customers want them Saturday morning instead of during normal office hours, how long your deliveries take ... and the list goes on!

To ensure that your customers are getting what they ordered, you need to give proof of delivery. This can be anything from a signature on the package or even just taking pictures at their doorstep so there's no confusion about whether the order was delivered.

Having tools to measure efficiency is critical for any company.

The best way this can happen is by having all these processes measured through one software program so there are no missing links or gaps that could lead back to customer satisfaction issues. Helping customers get their money back or a replacement product is just one way that this can increase your chances for repeat business.

Use Tech to Maintain and Build Customer Relationships Through Personalization

You can speed up ordering and delivery times by using technology, but if you want to give your customers the best experience possible it's important to not just focus on numbers.

You should strive for personalized service, too. For example, adding something extra like customer notifications beyond just delivery will be crucial if businesses want to keep customers' loyalty.

Jack Underwood is the CEO of Circuit, a route optimization service committed to making last-mile delivery easier and more efficient, saving time for drivers and money for employers.