Boost Customer Loyalty by Exceeding eCommerce Fulfillment and Delivery Expectations

Blog Post •
A seamless shopping experience isn’t just about a great website and competitive pricing—fulfillment, shipping, and delivery play a crucial role in converting browsers into buyers. Customers make purchasing decisions based on convenience, reliability, and clear expectations. In this article, we explore how retailers can optimize these touchpoints to drive loyalty and long-term success.

Retailers can have the best product, price, and e-commerce site, but if their order fulfillment and delivery times do not meet customer needs and expectations, they will likely lose customers and may not get them back. While it doesn’t get much attention, optimizing the e-commerce fulfillment process is as important to customer sales and loyalty as marketing and rewards programs.

What customers care about

Customer experience spans every brand interaction, both subjective and measurable through CSAT, NPS, and other metrics. E-commerce businesses must optimize the front end (website, sales, marketing), back end (checkout, fulfillment), and post-sales (returns, support) to create a seamless, positive experience. How does this translate for customers? T

  • Available products at the best price points
  • Multiple e-commerce fulfillment options to get the product in a way that best suits their preferences
  • Multiple shipping options, such as free, two-day, and same-day, with costs clearly stated upfront
  • Fast, easy, and convenient return policies
  • Clear and quick ways to connect with customer support and with options to self-serve
  • Nothing hidden and everything, including policies and reward programs, stated upfront

Omnichannel customers choose merchants based on product availability, price, shipping, delivery, and returns. When all five align, they buy; when reliability is proven, they become loyal. Amazon Prime exemplifies this, making shopping seamless, predictable, and convenient—turning one-time buyers into habitual customers.

Amazon set the bar for e-commerce expectations, but technology now allows any retailer to compete. Recent supply chain disruptions have made customers prioritize convenience over brand names. Smaller retailers can rival Amazon by replicating its buying experience, and any brand can win customers by offering a superior one.

Order fulfillment and delivery can make or break conversions

A smooth e-commerce website with great products and pricing attracts buyers, but fulfillment, shipping costs, and delivery speed seal the deal. Fast, reliable delivery ranks as a top priority for 41% of shoppers, and 69% won’t return if an order arrives more than two days late. Meeting these expectations is key to customer retention.

Consider the following scenarios from a customer’s perspective:

  • Scenario #1: You find a product online at a fair price but must start checkout to see shipping costs. Finding them too high, you abandon the cart to find a better deal elsewhere.

    Later, you receive an automated email nudging you to complete the purchase—frustrating, since the issue wasn’t forgetting, but pricing. Not a great experience.
  • Scenario #2: You find a product at the right price, but the retailer requires a $50 minimum for free shipping. Since your item costs $19.99 and you don’t want to add unnecessary purchases, you leave to find a better deal elsewhere.
  • Scenario #3: You find a product in stock at the right price with free two-day delivery. The retailer clearly outlines hassle-free returns, displays customer service info, and offers fulfillment options suited to your needs. Confident in your choice, you check out, receive timely order updates, and get your package exactly as promised—accurate and on time.

In these scenarios, number three is obviously the preferred customer experience. Everything is declared upfront, made easy, has the lowest overall cost and customer effort, and the order fulfillment process and delivery times meet expectations.

Now, which of these three retailers are you most likely to buy from again?

Optimizing order fulfillment and delivery and providing that information to the customer before they convert creates a shopping experience that feels easy and effortless.

How to optimize e-commerce fulfillment and delivery

E-commerce companies have the option of operating their own order fulfillment process, outsourcing it to a third party logistics (3PL) company, or doing both.

  1. Own and operate it: Running the entire order fulfillment process means owning or renting warehouses or fulfillment centers; hiring, training, and managing fulfillment process staff; and negotiating contracts with carriers. Retailers that own and operate their own order fulfillment are responsible for all aspects of it and incur the full costs of operation.

  2. Outsource it: Retailers can outsource all or part of their fulfillment process to e-commerce fulfillment providers who own and operate fulfillment centers and have expertise in fulfillment services. They specialize in operating efficiently, at lower costs, and often utilize retail robotics to automate picking and packing and other fulfillment workflows which enables them to scale and work faster.

Radial Europe, Groningen Fulfillment Centre, Netherlands

Leading fulfillment companies utilize modern inventory visibility and management technology that delivers real-time insight into inventory and integrates with retailers’ existing systems. Customer orders are easily tracked across the entire fulfillment process. Fulfillment providers also negotiate contracts and rates with shipping carriers and can optimize the final mile to lower and control costs.

Depending on the provider, some own and maintain their own transportation fleet and have global fulfillment centers to keep inventory closer to customers. Additionally, they have the capacity to support store fulfillment options with omnichannel order management systems that create transparency, real-time inventory visibility, and streamlined order fulfillment strategies.

Loyal Customers Increase Sales

The bottom line for improving loyalty for e-commerce customers is to ensure that order fulfillment and delivery meet and exceed their expectations. Satisfied customers create repeat business. Optimized e-commerce fulfillment that provides order accuracy, fast shipping, multiple delivery options, and an easy returns process leads to high levels of customer satisfaction. In addition to being loyal, happy customers promote the brands they love and, in today’s environment, that’s the best way to stay ahead of the competition.

Trust Radial for e-commerce fulfillment and transportation management solutions to delight customers and keep them coming back.