93% of Online Retailers Forget Their Customers After Checkout

Nobody wants to feel used by others. Unfortunately, many online retailers have the tendency to make their customers feel this way after checkout.

According to parcelLab’s new research, 93% of the UK’s top 100 fashion retailers end communication with their customers immediately after they have checked out. Meanwhile, 99% of these retailers don’t send tailored shipping communications to their customers.

If you’re guilty of this, it’s not too late to change, as neglecting your customers could severely reduce the likelihood of repeat business, which we all know is the easiest type of customer to convert. Disappearing on a customer after they’ve made a purchase on your store is damaging to your business. It’s like urging them to forget you because you don’t need them anymore.

If you try to reach out to them afterwards or offer them a new product or service, they would’ve forgotten you already or might simply show disinterest.

Personalized communications as a never-ending marketing strategy

Creating a personalized communication system helps you retain your customers, and the construction doesn’t end at the checkout. Once someone buys something at your store, you should treat them with importance all the more through regular follow-up communication.

“Retailers should be actively engaging with customers at this point through personalised, branded post-checkout communications. This is a prime stage in the customer journey to upsell products in delivery communications and currently only one retailer is doing this.” – Katharine Biggs, Content and Marketing Manager, parcelLab

The software company found that 74% of retailers leave their logistics carrier to host parcel tracking instead of doing it themselves. Because of this, they miss out on the opportunity to engage customers and get them to avail other products or services in their store.

It also revealed that 60% of customers are directed to the courier’s track and trace page, while only one in four retailers direct them to a branded track and trace page; one that is not hosted in the retailer’s domain.

Aside from that, parcelLab reported that only 12 fashion retailers offer free shipping, while 65 said they would only offer it when a minimum order value has been reached.

Biggs explained that retailers are no longer defined by their products, but by their customer’s journey. Building strong customer loyalty takes time, but it leads to repeat purchases and higher sales.

Have you ever done the disappearing act on your customers, or are you much more focused on giving the buyer a VIP experience? Tell us in the comments below or over in our Facebook Group.

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