Survey: Online shoppers are put off by high shipping costs
Only a few days left until Black Friday and Cyber Monday: The hot phase begins now for retailers in Germany. Manhattan Associates Inc., a supply chain and omnichannel solutions company, surveyed customers and retailers in Germany about digital and stationary retail. A key finding of the current study: Consumer expectations remain high, while retailers may have to reorient themselves regardless of the sales channel in order to remain successful.
Only one in five retail decision-makers say that price-performance ratio is one of the three most important means of promoting customer loyalty in their company. However, for consumers it is by far the most important factor for customer loyalty at 64 percent. On the other hand, an excellent presence on social media is apparently overrated. One in four retailers cited this as an important means of customer loyalty, while only three percent of customers consider this point to be important. In addition, 42 percent of customers said they did not want to interact with their dealer on social media.
Top customer service remains a success factor
On the other hand, consumers in Germany value very good customer service (36 percent), first-class products (32 percent) and helpful salespeople (29 percent). “The results show that the fundamentals of successful retail – offering quality products at a reasonable price and good service – are still important when it comes to building a loyal customer base,” says Markus Lohmann, Sales Director Germany at Manhattan Associates.
The topic of sustainability is also becoming increasingly important for consumers. A good half (51 percent) say that a retailer's environmental and sustainability efforts are important or even come first.
Shopping is becoming more “phygital”
At the same time, online and brick-and-mortar retail are increasingly merging: around three quarters (76 percent) of buyers look around online before shopping in person. They look for the best offer (42 percent), want to find out more about the product they want (38 percent), check whether the product is in stock (35 percent), or read reviews (31 percent).
Retailers in Germany are reacting to this: 74 percent say they are linking their online shops and brick-and-mortar stores. 52 percent offer customers the opportunity to return goods purchased online. 37 percent allow products that are not available locally to be purchased in the online shop and 32 percent check availability in neighboring branches. These two options are preferred by 31 and 17 percent of buyers, respectively.
“With the growing desire of customers to shop on their own terms, the role of the branches as fulfillment centers is also growing,” explains Markus Lohmann. “In order to work profitably, complete inventory transparency for the entire company is essential. Only then can a retailer offer seamless purchases, returns and fulfillment across all channels and branches.”
Further results of the study
• 50 percent of customers say they would abandon their digital shopping experience because of high delivery costs.
• Only three percent of retailers believe that they always have an accurate overview of their inventory across the entire company (online and brick-and-mortar).
• If the product is returned on site, all retailers surveyed will put the product back on sale – if suitable. 43 percent make it available online, 18 percent in store and 32 percent do both. Only seven percent send returns to a central warehouse before making them available for resale.
• Almost two thirds (64 percent) of consumers want a choice of parcel services with desired delivery dates and different cost options.
