The measure of a positive customer experience in the modern world revolves around a variety of factors. However, speed, choice and accessibility are always a priority for good retailers. Online merchants are experts at curating positive experiences around these ideas, where products can be quickly found, ordered and delivered.
But as the ecommerce market grows and businesses thrive online, how does one get an edge on their competition? There are more aspects of your business to consider than order management and distribution. So, in order to concentrate your efforts on business development, automated services could play a vital role in your customer experience strategy.
Here, we explore ways in which order automation management can boost the customer experience, exploring topics such as customer communication, varying delivery options and payment security.
Order confirmation
As soon as the payment is confirmed, your customers are waiting for the order to arrive. Sitting patiently by the window, they’re looking out for the delivery driver to pull up with their new clothes or the latest gadget. But how do consumers know that their order is prepared, on its way and when it will be delivered? Well, the answers should be in their emails.
As soon as an order is placed, automated services can confirm the purchase and send the customer an email that says as much. It’s an assurance that customers appreciate. Actually, it’s an assurance that they expect — and speed is key to making it a positive customer experience.
Signifyd’s consumer survey found that 41.9% of people expect a confirmation within minutes of their order. Only 8.5% of people said they would wait any longer than a day.
Creating a positive customer experience is built on meeting their expectations. In this sense, only an automated service (or superhuman) could generate an order confirmation within minutes. Continuing with communication, emails should also indicate the delivery process, including dispatch and delivery.
Delivering positive experiences
While online orders offer the convenience of having items delivered to your front door, some consumers prefer the option of picking their packages up in-store. Today, merchants are recognising a growing taste for click and collect.
Omnichannel initiatives are essential for creating positive customer experiences. It’s also good for business. 37.6% of merchants who offer omnichannel initiatives do so to attract customers who make additional purchases, according to Signifyd market research. 12.4% do so to gain an edge on Amazon, a giant of consumer convenience.
If merchants want to offer initiatives such as BOPIS and a variety of delivery and purchasing options, automated order management is essential. When products are ordered to store, delivery addresses are not required. However, this is a key driver in identifying the consumer and protecting the business from fraud.
Only through automated Merchant Fraud Prevention platforms can merchants be assured those orders are legitimate and safe, without creating friction for customers in the checkout area through additional checks.
Asking for additional authentication can also raise suspicions from consumers. Furthermore, if a legitimate order is declined, it may lead to brand abandonment. In fact, 36% of consumers said that they would no longer buy from a retailer if they had been declined for fraud for no apparent reason, according to Signifyd’s consumer survey. While choice is key to creating positive experiences, merchants must ensure that these options can proceed without friction or difficulty.
Automated security
As Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) becomes more common in the UK and the EU, consumers should expect to see more friction and difficulty completing the purchases. Today, consumers need to be verified through two-factor authentication. This means they need to demonstrate at least two of something they know, something they own, or something they are. This may be knowing a password, owning a phone, or using a fingerprint to complete a purchase.
However, asking for all this information from consumers is arduous and makes for a negative customer experience. Signifyd’s survey found that 30.6% of consumers would say that multiple steps to verify their identity would be a reason to not shop with a specific online retailer again.
Instead, automated order management can verify a customer’s identity with intelligent machine learning, identifying low-risk consumers and exempting them from additional checks. Using this automated service has many benefits for merchants. Firstly, they are 100% protected against fraudulent purchases. Secondly, with an easier checkout, customers have an improved shopping experience and are more likely to return.
Automated order management can help you boost the customer experience by delivering speed, convenience and choice. However, as a tool for your business, you can increase revenues through intelligent fraud protection to curate a secure checkout for consumers.
