Providing choice at the checkout is key for SMEs

As competition in the ecommerce marketplace intensifies, many SMEs are looking to encourage repeat business and win more customers. Christine Key, Whistl Director of Packets & Parcels, explains how more choice at the checkout and reliable, on-time delivery plays a pivotal role in keeping customers coming back for more.

Most customers today expect to be able to choose between multiple delivery options according to the speed, cost and convenience they require. It plays a crucial role in the customer experience and is one of the main influencing factors in customer conversion.

For small retailers this does not necessarily mean you have to invest in an expensive logistics infrastructure to compete with the giants. Working in partnership with a multi-carrier provider like Whistl gives you access to a host of leading national and international carriers offering a range of reliable delivery solutions.

That’s good news for both you and your customers. It means you can offer more choice at the checkout, helping to increase customer satisfaction and sales conversion rates, whilst your customers can choose the delivery option that most suits them – whether it’s economy, non-urgent delivery or premium time-critical.

It all comes down to convenience and allowing customers to choose their preferred way of receiving their purchases at a particular point in time.

Here at Whistl we support around 2,000 SMEs with their postal and delivery requirements. Out of the 4 billion items sent through our network every year, over 142 million are sent by SME customers across a range of sectors including retail, entertainment, leisure, charities and financial, and we’re pleased to say that 86% are satisfied or very satisfied in doing business with us!

Having access to flexible multi-carrier solutions through one provider has big advantages for the small companies we work with. Managing delivery certainly becomes less of a headache and frees up precious time to focus on core business activities. It also means they’re better equipped to cope with surges in demand during peak selling periods.

Working with an individual carrier that has a limited network capacity may not provide this level of flexibility. Here at Whistl we’re able to adopt a multi-routing approach, selecting the carrier that has the infrastructure to deliver cost-efficiency and on-time, every time performance.

Reliability is key. 66% of SME e-retailers identified on-time delivery as more crucial than the quality and price of their products.  For a small business without the budget, in-house expertise or staff to manage delivery, working with a multi-carrier provider is going to be the most cost-effective, hassle-free and efficient means of giving your customers the range of reliable delivery options they need.

A recent survey showed that some 66%* of consumers confirmed that they have bought goods from one retailer in preference to another because the delivery options were more appealing with 49% saying they’d been happy to pay more for a better or more convenient delivery option.

Many small e-retailers are now waking up to the fact that delivery is a major factor in the purchase decision-making process. Delivery options are important to consumers so it’s not something that small
e-retailers can ignore. Get delivery right and you’ll see more satisfied customers, more sales and more customers coming back for more!

For more information about Whistl’s range of national and international Packet & Parcel services, contact your account manager today or visit our website at www.whistl.co.uk

* Delivering Consumer Choice: 2015 State of ecommerce Delivery survey