Consumer Discretionary

<p style="text-align: justify;">All too often in eCommerce, the post-purchase experience is overlooked by retailers, yet it is one of the essential stages of the buying experience in ecommerce &nbsp;to secure repeat customers and drive customer loyalty.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is necessary to have a robust post-purchase strategy in place to drive increased revenue and decrease the volume of Where Is My Order (WISMO) calls in the retailer's call center.</p><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Post-purchase components for Customer Retention&nbsp;</span></h2><p style="text-align: justify;">Like any new software/strategy implementation, it can be overwhelming to think about all the different components that go into post-purchase and how to drive loyalty beyond the buy button. There is certainly a Crawl-Walk-Run approach that can help build loyalty.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There are three main components to a post-purchase strategy that needs to be implemented:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Setting clear delivery expectations</strong>: Even before purchase, it is essential to set the right expectation of when your customer will receive the item(s).&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Proactive, Onbrand Communication</strong>: Your customers do not want to communicate with the carrier and their website; the expectation is that all the communication will come from the Brand/Retailer, and it will be proactive. You cannot over-communicate with customers when they have a package en route.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Reverse Logistics</strong>: What happens when your customer needs to make a return or exchange? Does it require a phone call? Do you put a label in the box? How can Brands and Retailers make the return process self-service while driving additional revenue and reducing operation costs?</p><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Benefits of Post-purchase Strategy&nbsp;</span></h2><p style="text-align: justify;">Implementing a post-purchase strategy will help brands and retailers to drive increased loyalty, reduce operational costs, and increase the lifetime value of your customer.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>This article was contributed by our expert <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/miglieri/">Steven Miglieri</a></em></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Frequently Asked Questions Answered by Steven Miglieri</span></h3><h2><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1. How does promotion post purchase help customers?</span></h2><p>The typical post purchase flow consists of redirecting customers to the carrier website to track their package. Carriers are not marketing on behalf of the brand/retailer, and their websites are typically confusing and/or are missing information.&nbsp;</p><p>There is an opportunity for Retailers to deliver a more personalized experience with dynamic product recommendations and an opportunity to drive traffic back to the website. This flow allows for a better customer experience and additional revenue for the company.</p><h2><span style="font-size: 12pt;">2. How do I reduce WISMO calls?</span></h2><p>There are typically a few different points of friction that cause a WISMO call, the best way to reduce WISMO is by over communicating to the customer the status of their order</p><p>Pre Shipment: Communicate fulfillment delays to the customer</p><p>In Transit: Give customers an Estimated Delivery Date (EDD) of when they can expect their item. Additionally, there should be at minimum two proactive messages to the customer</p><p>1. On it&rsquo;s way - This is when the package has been picked up by the carrier, and has been scanned.</p><p>2. Anticipation - This is 24 hours prior to delivery, retailers should give a reminder to the customer their package will be delivered tomorrow.&nbsp;</p><p>Delays: If an item is going to be delayed, it is important to communicate that proactively.&nbsp;<br />All of this communication should be across whatever platform the customer preferes (email, SMS, etc)</p><h2><span style="font-size: 12pt;">3. How can you influence customers in post purchase stage?</span></h2><p>Post purchase, by definition, means the consumer has already made a purchase with you. This makes them more likely to purchase again vs. acquiring a new customer. On average, 75% of customers track their package, and this groups tracks it 3.4x per shipment. This is a lot of engagement that many retailers are sending off to the carrier site, where there is no marketing on behalf of the retailer.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The most successful retailers are treating every post purchase interaction with the customer the same as they would with a customer who is on their website. Dynamic product recommendations are very impactful and these customers are much more likely to repeat purchase.</p><h2><span style="font-size: 12pt;">4. Why is post purchase communication important?</span></h2><p>Customers have options, if the customer has a bad post purchase experience, the likelihood of a repeat purchase decreases. 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