How well do you know millennial shoppers?

By now most retailers should be familiar with the millennial shopper:

• 80 million U.S. consumers born between 1980 and 2000
• The first truly digital generation, they are “more wired, more community conscious, and more skeptical of traditional business practices” than previous generations.
• They spend $600 billion annually on goods and services.
• They are savvy value shoppers, relying on peer recommendations, online reviews and “show-rooming” to get the best prices.
• They prefer to spend money on experiences, not “stuff;” many don’t see themselves ever buying a car or a TV.

Think about your last e-commerce purchase experience. What’s one of the first things you think of? If you said the delivery of the product, you’re not alone.

Regardless of the experience of the actual purchase, the perception of the business — rightly, or wrongly — is often shaped by the circumstances surrounding the delivery.

Fast and free shipping: every e-commerce customer wants it. Unfortunately, this sort of service isn’t always feasible. Trying to keep up with the Amazons of the world can put a dent in a business’ bottom line — and sometimes it can even cause a business to fold.

It’s evident: The traditional retail industry must adapt or end up like the dinosaur. The retail-store bubble has burst, and — as store space has become more burdensome — businesses are looking for omnichannel strategies to keep up with consumers’ evolving shopping habits.

What’s the biggest challenge your supply chain faces? If it’s keeping pace with your customers’ ever-changing demands for faster/cheaper/better delivery service, you are not alone. It’s an issue that’s been topping many of the supply chain surveys of 2016. 

There are a few key reasons delivery service can be challenging. We’ll focus on two big ones in this blog — the last-mile delivery challenge and the cost/convenience factor.  

Even if your pricing is competitive, you may be losing customers to the competition because they’re doing these things right.

E-commerce has been on the rise for years. And now, for the first time ever, research shows that shoppers prefer to purchase online rather than in stores.

But that hasn’t eliminated businesses’ need for a physical location entirely. In fact, along with the popularity of online shopping, another trend has emerged that is forcing companies to rethink their supply chain and inventory strategies: the cross-channel shopper.

Are you delivering when it comes to customer service? And not just as compared to your direct competitors. A recent Accenture study found that customers compare and contrast their digital shopping experiences — even those that offer totally different products or services.

That means the bar has been set by e-commerce giants like Amazon and Zappos, who are known for their customer service. These companies have grown customer expectations. Customers now expect, above all, two things:

The courier service industry has undergone dramatic changes in almost every respect, from types of products shipped to customer demands and expectations. 

With a surge in e-commerce across global economies, the highly competitive courier service industry has drastically evolved to meet consumers’ ever-changing needs. But there is one challenge that the courier industry has always faced: how to deliver goods or packages safely to their destination, into the customer’s hands faster and easier.