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Slow delivery times hurt customer satisfaction
When customers order something online, they expect it to arrive in a timely manner. When items get lost, are delayed or never arrive at all, your business risks losing loyal shoppers - and subsequently missing out on more sales over the long run. This makes address verification software absolutely key when you're shipping items to consumers on a regular basis - without it, you risk slow deliveries or returned packages and frustrated customers.
People want timely deliveries
American consumers don't expect instant delivery just yet, but they do assume their packages will be delivered in a timely manner. In fact, how long they wait can directly impact whether or not they make a purchase - and their post-purchase satisfaction. According to UPS's "Pulse of the Online Shopper" report, most buyers are willing to wait, on average, a week before receiving their purchase.
"Thirty-four percent of shoppers said timely delivery influenced their purchase satisfaction."
The same study found a mere 3 percent of shoppers expect their package to arrive within two days, while the number willing to wait three or four days each gathered 6 percent of the vote. The number of people willing to wait got a bit higher as the days approached the one week mark - 25 percent said they'd be fine with a delivery that took five days, while 32 percent said six to seven days was acceptable. After a week, the numbers started to drop off again, with only 18 percent claiming they'd wait 8-10 days and 10 percent saying they'd hold out for 11 days or more.
No matter how long customers claim they're willing to wait for their items, knowing a package has arrived on time can make or break their post-purchase satisfaction. The UPS study showed that 34 percent of American shoppers claimed whether or not an item was delivered in the timeframe specified by the retailer had an influence on their overall happiness with a purchase. This was the third most important factor in post-delivery satisfaction - only feeling like the purchase was a good value and the quality of the item ranked higher on the list, as they were important to 62 and 60 percent, respectively.
Unfortunately, timely deliveries can be thrown off if a retailer doesn't use address correction software that ensures a customer's package is mailed where it's meant to go. By guaranteeing packages are headed to the right addresses, a business can build customer satisfaction and loyalty in the long term.
