Last-mile delivery experience critical to customer satisfaction, survey finds

A new survey of online shoppers has found that 85 percent will not return to a retailer after a poor delivery experience.

As well, 88 percent of consumers may abandon their online shopping cart if delivery terms are poor, such as having slow delivery or high costs.

These findings came from a survey of approximately 1,000 U.S. consumers conducted in June 2022 by FarEye.

Consumers surveyed define a positive delivery experience as having fast delivery (36 percent), low shipping cost (34 percent), delivery tracking/visibility (28 percent). Eighty-six percent of consumers prefer to wait no more than three days for a delivery and only seven percent of consumers felt the online returns process had been an easy experience.

According to FarEye’s chief marketing officer, Judd Marcello, the survey indicates that e-commerce sellers need to rethink their last-mile strategy. “These survey results further reinforce the need for last-mile delivery logistics to evolve to meet ever-changing consumer demands and solve the last-mile challenge,” Marcello said.  “Last mile is only going to get more complicated, and we believe the Last Mile Mandate is the lynchpin to success for brands to maintain consumer loyalty in today’s experience economy.”

FarEye defines the last mile mandate as the core principles brands must adhere to, in order to win the last mile. Brands must:

• Dramatically simplify the most complicated aspects of delivery logistics;
• Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty by delivering unique on-brand consumer experiences and ensuring on-time, accurate deliveries;
• Create new, differentiated offerings that reflect dynamic consumer buying behaviors;
• Continuously reduce the environmental impact from deliveries.

The ast mile mandate focuses on solving the challenges brands have felt for years, through last mile logistics technology capabilities such as real-time visibility, delivery orchestration, customer experience, business process management and sustainability.

“Last-mile delivery is the most complicated and costly part of the delivery journey. Simplifying complexity and de-risking logistics is a priority for every brand. The first rule in last mile is delivering a superior customer experience and brands that adhere to the mandate will not only achieve this, they’ll also drive efficiency and growth, ultimately turning the delivery experience into a competitive advantage,” added Marcello.