If you’ve ever shopped online and proactively checked for delivery updates, chances are you’ve encountered an estimated delivery date before. Traditionally, customers tracked where their parcels are at each delivery stage, but ‘when’ their parcel will arrive is quickly replacing the ‘where’ as a crucial data point sought after by consumers.

Estimated delivery dates (EDD) tell customers when they can reasonably expect their shipment to arrive on their doorstep, and sharing this upfront can elevate the shopping experience entirely, and increase checkout conversion rates.

Studies discovered that 82% of consumers prioritize retailers that proactively communicate updates at every step of the fulfilment and delivery stage. E-commerce businesses today know about the importance of detailed post-purchase update notifications and how they can also be an excellent channel for marketing. But are they fully utilizing it to meet the changing expectations of their buyers? Parcel Perform is at the forefront of making this seamless for brands and marketplaces.

Why are estimated delivery dates important in notifications?

Did you know that 83% of customers expect a guaranteed arrival date, while 80% want to know exactly when to expect their delivery to arrive? 

Despite this, 56% of e-commerce brands still fail to integrate all tracking information and shipping events on the post-sale page, and even fewer brands include it in update notifications. Here’s why e-commerce brands should start focusing on communicating the EDD.

1. Convenience and predictability for your customers

Customers today lead busy and active lifestyles. Most people patronize online stores for convenience, and they expect reliability and flexibility from the retailer. Informing them of exactly when they can expect their delivery is a simple way to show that you prioritize their convenience.

By being transparent about the delivery process and giving them a timeline to rely on, your brand is creating a positive delivery experience that your buyers will want to return to. You also create anticipation with personalized, relevant engagement opportunities along the delivery journey.

2. Build customer satisfaction and trust

Positive customer experience = customer satisfaction = customer loyalty in the long run. We’ve established how an EDD can add to a positive customer experience, but can it benefit your internal teams too? The answer is yes. 

By proactively communicating delivery statuses to your customers, you can dramatically reduce the volume of ‘Where Is My Order’ (WISMO) calls weighing down your customer service teams. WISMO calls can make up to 70-80% of average call volume during peak season, and keeping your customers notified ahead of time will reduce that load tremendously, in addition to providing a better customer experience. 

3. Reduce failed deliveries

There’s a reason why much of the supply chain and logistics inefficiencies surface in the last-mile phase. Over 65% of retailers acknowledge that failed or late deliveries add considerable cost to their operations, but these costs could be easily avoided with the right post-purchase communications to customers.

With email and SMS updates to serve as reminders, and date of delivery estimates easily accessible, your customers can make the necessary arrangements beforehand to be available for the delivery—saving them the disappointment and decreasing your wasteful costs. 

How to communicate the EDD to your customers

Depending on the number of carriers, and your delivery setup, retrieving the EDD provided by carriers and communicating it timely can be challenging. Here’s where Parcel Perform can help.

Leveraging data from the 700+ global carriers that we integrate with, we can easily interpret tracking events and feed them into your communication flows to inform your customers of shipment updates through tracking pages and notifications, as well as a flexible field placeholder.

We have upgraded the email notification template with exciting features. You can now display all the customer and order-related details found on your brand’s tracking page and create customer confidence by including the estimated delivery date within your email notifications.

What’s more, your notifications will also automatically mirror your branded tracking page which is customized with your branding, look and preferred language. Provide all the essential information to your customers while staying true to your branding.

An upgraded notification experience with Parcel Perform

To arrive at accurate delivery estimates, you need a sophisticated system that takes several factors into account. This involves complex variables such as processing and transit speeds, locations, types of carriers, and even weather conditions.

If you don’t want to rely on carrier EDDs, Parcel Perform’s powerful machine learning algorithms can provide the most accurate Date of Arrival Predictions. Relevant and easy to understand, these delivery updates are easy to integrate into your tracking pages and post-purchase notifications.

To stay on top of your customer commitments, we monitor prediction accuracy in real-time and proactively notify customers of delays in the delivery process.

Increase your brand’s checkout conversion rate by communicating EDDs to your customers. Reach out to our sales team or your Key Account Manager to get started.