With e-commerce having grown more than 32% year-over-year in 2020, retailers are facing growing problems with on-time delivery and the return process. An estimated 30% of all products ordered online are returned, and 92% of consumers in a YouGov survey said they would buy again from an online retailer if the returns process was easy.
The returns experience is an extension of the delivery experience, and both impact the overall consumer experience. More brands are looking for end-to-end solutions that can incorporate all these processes into a single, integrated platform.
When Living Direct, an online-only appliances retailer, sought a solution to its delivery and returns problem, it contracted with Convey, a last-mile IT solutions provider. Convey launched a branded delivery tracking page for Living Direct that unified the post-purchase communication process. It also deployed a returns module. Over the first six months, Living Direct saw a 76% shift in the number of shipments handled by a single carrier. The result was a 34% cost savings on freight returns through carrier optimization and a 63% positive rating from shoppers.
Even these results, though, are not enough for brands as they learn that the post-purchase experience can be the most valuable experience for customer retention.
Post-purchase experience management provider Inmar Intelligence is joining forces with Convey to create a joint offering that melds the online post-purchase experience into a single seamless experience for customers and a manageable tool for brands.
The solution combines Inmar’s returns management platform with Convey’s delivery experience management technology to create end-to-end visibility for both merchants and shoppers. Inmar processes over 600 million returns each year.
Convey said that e-commerce returns grew 148% year-over-year in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation, proving that integrated solutions are critical to the online shopping experience.
“We are excited to work with Convey to help deliver a complete solution for merchants, providing enhanced visibility, transportation efficiencies and improved customer experiences,” said Ken Bays, vice president of product management at Inmar Intelligence. “Both e-commerce and omnichannel merchants can now have an end-to-end solution that simplifies the complex challenges in today’s evolving customer journey. This agreement provides merchants with connected solutions throughout their processes, from purchase and delivery to easy returns and value recovery, with cost reduction and improved visibility added across the entire spectrum.”
Under terms of the partnership, Convey has joined Inmar Intelligence’s Innovator Ecosystem as a “platform accelerator.” The Innovator Ecosystem brings together companies that deliver technological innovation to the marketplace. According to the companies, sellers using connected systems offer an improved customer experience.
“We couldn’t be more pleased to partner with Inmar at such a critical time for retailers,” said Michael Streitberger, head of strategic partnerships at Convey. “Bringing together data from across the last mile — from fulfillment to delivery and returns — retailers are able to take a holistic approach to optimize their operations, and improve decision-making with a 360-degree view of SKU and carrier performance. They also benefit from the ability to proactively communicate with customers in a consistent, branded way across all touch points to transform shoppers into lifelong customers.”
Click for more Modern Shipper articles by Brian Straight.
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