In the past, brick and mortar stores ruled the ways of the retail world. In the present, the surge in e-commerce seems to have changed those standards to meet the rising demands of online shoppers in this digital era.
One of the major key differences between e-commerce and brick and mortar stores for heavy goods is the shipping process. With brick and mortar, customers can directly enter and examine the products. They can walk out of the store with their purchase that day and receive instant gratification.
But for bulky e-commerce orders, online sellers often struggle with the complexity of providing a complete experience that customers will be satisfied with.
#1) One of their biggest challenges is the expensive costs that incur to pay for shipping, unless they ask the customers to foot the bill. Even then, consumers online are often conditioned to expect “free shipping and returns”, not realizing that bulky orders cost far more than small parcel deliveries. Last mile delivery is by far the most expensive part of the fulfillment chain. And without a physical store to hold the products, that’s another additional cost to secure for inventory storage, plus hiring people for muscle work in the warehouse. An endless list after another to pay for the piling expenses.
But by partnering with companies like Deliveright – a leading digital delivery network, you can implement cost-effective methods with customized control over warehousing and distribution. It’s simple: We will unload, receive and inventory your product, and once it’s ready to ship, we will ship directly through our last-mile delivery solution or your carrier of your choice. Running on Grasshopper Labs allows shippers a transparent insight into every part of the delivery chain, so you won’t have to worry about any surprise fee charges or managing your inventory. Make better decisions with smarter logistics.
#2) With no in-person sales rep to speak to, good communication and tracking is critical for heavy e-commerce. Brick and mortar businesses deliver their bulky products instantly to a customer’s home after purchase. Also, unlike small parcel deliveries which can be left at the front door, this can’t be done when delivering a sectional sofa. It’s not just about customers having the ability to monitor their shipments, but they also need to be home within the delivery window to allow entry and receive their items. Because scheduling a bulky shipment online is more complex than for physical stores, the driver and the customer must coordinate accurately to complete a successful delivery.
This can be ensured when partnering with carriers that implement smart technology in their customer communication network. Through texts, automated calls, and real time updates, you can minimize failed deliveries significantly by keeping the customers informed about tracking updates every step of the way. Deliveright for example uses online communication modules in our customer service, which benefits the communication system with higher efficiency and greater quality outputs in customer satisfaction. In fact, our deliveries have a 70% reduction rate in order cancellations compared to the industry average. No more worrying over “where’s the shipment?” concerns.
#3) Returning a bulky merchandise over the internet is not so easy as contacting your local store to have it picked up. Heavy goods are more likely to get damaged during the delivery than for small packages. Since customers can’t examine the product for themselves online, they expect their shipments to be in pristine condition upon arrival. Finding a defective, mistaken item, or even a scratch on the product won’t end things well for the customer AND the retailer. Now the company has to refund the customer, pay to bring it back, and figure out what to do with it. A significant waste in time and money.
#4) In contrast to e-commerce, brick stores are limited to the geographic regions they serve. Especially for small or medium sized businesses, they may only be able to cater to a single town or a city. But with the emergence of online store platforms like Shopify integrated with Deliveright’s app to manage the entire shipping process, in-person retailers are no longer limited by that issue. With this network, a store that used to serve 50 miles in radius can now extend their business to nationwide coverage without much investment into it. A simple integration that could lead to your business revolution.
As Deliveright’s CEO Doug Ladden stated in the recent FreightWave interview, “The key is to focus on getting your shipments right the first time in proper shape so that you can minimize the returns and reverse logistics issue.” Deliveright pre-inspects all items to address any repairs or errors before scheduling for a White Glove delivery. With our first-class customer success team and logistics experts, we’ve had 80% lower damage and rejected delivery rates than the industry average. “They communicated with me every step of the way,” said Marguerite, a Deliveright customer. “They arrived on time and they called in their way. They were quick, they cleaned up the wrapping, and most importantly nothing was damaged. Great job.”
As of 2021, e-commerce earnings are reported to be growing at a faster rate than brick and mortar sales. Yet, many e-tailers still struggle to find cost-effective solutions to their logistics operations- a critical part that leaves lasting impressions of the brand on the customers. With this in mind, Deliveright’s experts solved through massive data to build an end-to-end logistics model that’ll ensure a seamless delivery integration process for heavy goods sellers.
Using Grasshopper, the end-to-end final mile delivery platform, Deliveright’s customers can manage every part of their supply chain with full transparency and real time visibility. With over 90% nationwide coverage (U.S.) and 1,000+ Google reviews at 4.5, you can now focus on growing your business while we handle the weights for you.
If you don’t yet have an account to ship with Deliveright, you can sign up through our platform to book your orders directly. To learn more about our services, visit here.
