How to Prioritize the Quality of Customer Experience in a Rapidly Changing Marketplace

In July this year, British luxury brand Burberry publicly announced that it was moving away from its chief executive following a disappointing earnings result for Q2 ‘24, which saw sales cascade by over 20%. While the luxury retail market has seen a lukewarm reception this year, Burberry noted that one of the reasons for its recent rough trading was the company’s pursuit of entertaining a wider customer base instead of focusing on its existing base — essentially losing sight of its core customers.

While this sounds like an avoidable problem in retrospect, it is easy for businesses to fall through this slippery slope. Take, for instance, the situation with Temu or Shein, and their utilization of the ‘de minimis’ rule to import merchandise into the US by consolidating orders to less than $800 to avoid duties. For US retailers not used to this style of fulfillment, it can look like an existential crisis, considering the popularity of these platforms amidst the US consumer base and the relatively cheaper fulfillment method they’ve weaponized. 

In a way, while the challenges faced by a name brand like Burberry versus SME retailers fearing cheap merchandise ingress are distinct, the underlying issues leading to these challenges are not really different. To understand this, it is important to rewind and look at the customer journey and the quality of the buying experience they have grown to expect from a brand. 

Consider the three major touchpoints a business has with its customer base. The first is the checkout stage. Here, the customer’s main concerns are: "When can I get the item I want?" and "How certain can I be that I will receive it when promised?" Quality in this delivery options phase is influenced by the choices and certainty customers get from the brand. 

The second touchpoint is order tracking. Providing a clear and accurate line of sight on the order is crucial to customer experience and a lynchpin metric for customer retention. The third touchpoint is the handover experience and the flexibility accorded in delivery scheduling. 

While these factors do not change, understanding who your customers are and what they want will dictate the level of sophistication expected from these touchpoints. For instance, a same-day delivery brand dealing with everyday CPG versus a luxury eyewear company will have little intersection of their customer base. Ergo, the approach to their respective customer base must be different. 

With this in mind, companies can design the expected customer experience, allowing them to then look to their logistics service providers (LSPs) to execute that vision. In the context of pleasing the customer base, the LSP that a business works with is extremely critical. A good LSP would not dictate how to run a business, but rather bolster their chance of reaching the ‘right’ customer in the way they want to be reached. 

The experience of the provider counts as well. At ShipEngine, we see businesses come to us with a particular problem, but they are likely to also have other associated problems they haven’t considered. Thanks to our work with existing customers, we can add insights into the types of problems a customer would need to solve, helping them address not just the surface-level issues but the deeper, underlying challenges that can spring up during the fulfillment process. 

With a good partner, companies can find answers to fulfillment issues that normally would look overwhelming. Consider doorstep piracy, for instance. This is a growing problem in urban areas, where high population density, frequent deliveries, and the presence of multi-unit buildings make it easier for thieves to steal packages left unattended. While this issue may seem beyond a retailer's control, it negatively affects customer experience and can impact future sales.

While a daunting problem, it can be easily solved by implementing a PIN identity confirmation for the receipt of the order, ensuring the purchased item ends up in the hands of the consumer every time. For this to work, the retailer must collaborate closely with their LSP, which is only possible with a reliable partner. 

In essence, for sales to grow, companies need to be mindful of who their customers are, what they seek in a fulfillment experience, and work with a partner that can cross the t’s and dot the i’s for them. Running a tight and disciplined process would allow businesses to not get distracted by new fulfillment hacks cropping up in the market, nor be dictated by fleeting trends.