As a fashion brand, do you provide a Shipping Tracking solution to your customer? Well maybe you should, and here’s why. 

Today’s buyer is demanding, not only about the product itself but also when it comes to the overall experience of their purchase. The quality of the product is not the only expectation they have and the urge for a positive buying experience intensifies if we are talking about online shopping. 

The lack of an in-store experience and of the instant availability of the product that are primal characteristics of brick and mortar retailers leads your eCommerce buyer to expect other requirements to be met in an online experience. 

The buying journey you provide on your online store may be what differentiates you from your competitors Customers compare brands’ experiences, and if yours lacks some feature they are used to have when buying online, then the whole user experience you provide may be damaged and thus may have a negative impact on your brand’s image. 

“Online, businesses rarely get second chances. They have to get it right the first time. If a customer has a bad experience on your website or app – with all the alternatives out there – chances are they’ll never come back.”

Ben Harris, CEO at Decibel.

Purchase Experience

Paul Tabot, Forbes contributor, said that the ultimate online experience a customer gets becomes “their new benchmark for all digital experiences going forward”. Although price and product will always remain important, “businesses now truly compete on the experience they provide to their customers”. 

We can point out some requirements your brand must fulfil to provide a positive buying experience in your online store. In an eCommerce era, these are very important to maintain and assure to at least guarantee that your customer experience meets your client’s expectations: 

• User-friendly website;
• Availability of the product;
• Clearly communicate the price;
• Product specifications;
• Good quality photos;
• Easiness of navigation;
• Easiness of checkout;
• Different payment methods;
• Customer support. 

Yet, providing a great purchase experience is not enough for the consumer of today. With online shopping, what happens after they’ve bought from you is gaining another importance and represents a greater slice of the overall eCommerce experience. The post-purchase phase is still part of the process of retaining your customer and can be an indicator of how well you can fulfil their expectations.

“(…) there’s a common mistake we’ve seen marketers make in the past: they treat the purchasing stage as if it’s the end of the funnel. They’re so focused on getting people to buy they forget that a customer’s journey continues long after they make that first purchase.”

AlisonForrest, Chatkit

It is very important to maintain the focus of engaging with your customer even after they’ve made a purchase. Not only will your customer feel accompanied and rewarded, as they will also feel secure and willing to buy from your brand again. 

Post-purchase Experience

After buying from you, the consumer journey isn’t over as they are still in contact with some of your brand’s touch points. These can have a direct effect on your customer’s satisfaction and overall perception of the experience you have to offer. One example of where your brand is still in touch with their client is during the delivery process.

During this post-purchase phase, your customers are craving for a fast delivery but they are also asking for transparency and intel about the status of their order. The eCommerce world has evolved in recent years and it is unthinkable for savvy online customers to buy from a brand that doesn’t make the buying experience a transparent journey.  It is crucial to develop trust at this stage and to offer support whenever needed. Your online customer maybe anxious and suspicious. They don’t like to feel excluded, left-out or forgotten, especially after they’ve paid for the product they were looking for. They feel the need to follow every step of the order or else they might think they got tricked and that your brand isn’t trustworthy.  And that’s when a shipping tracking experience comes in.  A shipping tracking system or shipping tracking experience is a holistic approach that allows you to provide a complete and transparent post-purchase experience where your buyer can see all order information and status. Here they are also able to: 

• Trace every step of the delivery process from beginning to end;
• Track the shipment process;
• See all details of the order;
• Consult returns and refunds’ FAQs;
• Overall manage their orders and make some changes to their information if needed. 

Shipping Tracking Experience

Despite of your buyer eCommerce savviness, there is still a present fear of losing their money that the shipment tracking system helps to soften. The process starts with simple a notification or email that their order is confirmed after they’ve placed the payment and that it was received successfully. Yet, a simple email may not be enough for your client nowadays. It is very likely that they expect something more. 

Conscientiously or unconsciously your customer is expecting something extra from the delivery experience you provide. There are both functional and emotional expectations that they expect your brand to meet and the perfect scenario should be to fulfil both of them: