Advantages for an etailer to offer real-time shipment tracking to its customers
When customers make an online purchase, they expect to receive their package in the shortest possible time and to know the status of their delivery in real-time and at all times. This improves the online shopping experience and increases loyalty.In this article, we show you how offering up-to-date real-time tracking when shipping internationally from your e-commerce can benefit your customers and generate more sales.
Why offer real-time order tracking in your e-commerce?
For your buyers, offering this functionality improves the customer experience, transmitting control and peace of mind at all times while waiting for their order to arrive.
Your business will be offering a quality service that your competitors may not use, thus improving brand perception.
Improve the customer experience
Looking for options on how to improve the online shopping experience of an e-commerce site can be somewhat difficult, since multiple factors such as the user interface, information offered on the website, a server problem or even the user's own internet connection can negatively affect their overall experience.
Despite all this, there some are extra features and services that can be offered to improve this experience, such as real-time order tracking.
Customers today expect to make a quick and seamless transaction, which does not end after payment but lasts until they receive their purchase.
Offering the possibility of monitoring orders with real-time updates on their location and status, generates a sense of control and tranquillity in customers, reducing the anxiety associated with waiting and increasing trust in the brand.
The same happens when transferring this to the reverse logistics process, when the customer returns a product and can know the status of their shipment and refund at all times.
How to choose the right tracking technology for your customers
When choosing the right tracking technology, you should choose the one that best suits the needs of your business and responds to your customers' requests.
Some aspects you should consider are:
- Compatibility with your e-commerce: especially if your online store is built with its own code. Ensure that the tool you are going to use is compatible with your language to avoid possible incompatibilities and technical problems.
- Update frequency: ask yourself the question: How often do you want your customers to receive updates? Some tools offer updates every 24 hours, whenever you change locations, or even with a specific custom frequency.
- Coverage: make sure that the tool you have chosen covers all your shipping routes, especially if you make international deliveries from your e-commerce. Keep this in mind if you hope to expand your business and open it up to new markets in the future.
- Data analytics: if you want to have functionality beyond real-time tracking, some tools offer insights into delivery performance so you can monitor and analyse the data.
- Your order volume: consider the number of orders that are typically placed in your store. Some providers offer different rates depending on the number of monthly orders, so keep this in mind when selecting a plan.
- Notification paths: consider how you want to notify your customers. It can be through email, text message, or a push notification if you have a mobile app.
How to integrate shipment tracking into your e-commerce
As a business, there are some features you can offer your customers so that they can always have control over the status of their orders, for example:
Carrier tracking link: you can provide the link to the tracking page on the carrier website. For example, if they are shipping to the United States, a link to the USPS tracking page.
Third-party tracking systems: some third-party platforms consolidate tracking details from multiple providers, for example 17Track, which has plug-ins that you can incorporate directly into your e-commerce
Tracking within your e-commerce: customers can access their accounts within your website and see the status of their orders in real time.
Email and SMS notifications: provide updates to your customers whenever the order changes location or status.
Chatbots: offer chatbots that can answer common questions such as "Where's my package? Obtaining live data from logistics systems and platforms.
Proactive communication: incorporate automated systems that notify customers of delays or issues, keeping them informed.
Customer service: Even if it’s a manual and not an automated system, it is still important to have a customer service department that responds to customer requests and resolves all their doubts efficiently
Some of these features may not be found by default in your e-commerce management system or are not included with your logistics provider's API integration, so you will need to look for a compatible plugin or develop it yourself.
Benefits of Real-Time Order Tracking for your customers
As we have mentioned before, offering real-time monitoring in your e-commerce has numerous advantages for your customers:
- Improves the customer experience: being able to access up-to-date information about their orders provides customers with a more reliable shopping experience in which they feel in control and security at all times.
- Reduced customer service enquiries: by automatically having real-time information, customer service enquiries asking about the status of an order decrease. Allowing your business to reduce the burden of this department and focus efforts on other problems.
- Generate trust and transparency: offering up-to-date data shows your company's commitment to transparency and accountability, generating great confidence in the customer at all times and contributing to their loyalty.
- Reduce cancellations: e-commerce stores that offer this functionality typically have a lower cancellation rate, as customers feel more confident when making their purchases.
Today, not offering real-time order tracking for your customers is staying one step behind the competition.
Improve the shopping experience and satisfaction of your customers so that they make their online purchases again in your business.