If you are looking for a way to increase sales for your eCommerce auto parts store, you might want to consider fine-tuning your order fulfillment operation. Consumers today have high expectations for their buying experience. They want the ease of online ordering and fast delivery. Offering, “Same Day Shipping” will keep your customers coming back and increase your auto parts and accessories sales.
- 56% of online consumers ages 18-34 years expect to have same day delivery.
- 61% consumers are willing to pay more for the same-day delivery
- 96% of customers consider “fast delivery” to mean same-day delivery
- More than 25% of shoppers would abandon a cart online if same-day shipping wasn’t available
Statistics from Invesp
Below, you will find information on how to set up shipping auto parts with a same-day shipping policy.
Step 1 – Realistic Expectations
When setting up your shipping policy, make sure you’re not promoting unrealistic expectations. Same-day shipping can be achievable, however, a blanket statement such as, “We ship all orders the same day” is not realistic. Things happen and orders can be delayed. Your shipping policy needs to include three things:
1. It is important to mention a cut-off time. Customers need to be made aware that orders received after the cut-off time will be processed the following day. Make sure you choose a cut-off time that reflects your operational realities. The typical etailer will choose 2 or 3 pm local time as their cut-off because that gives them ample time to complete the packaging and sending process ensuring same-day shipping.
2. Make sure that your customers understand that only “completed” orders will be processed for same-day shipping. Orders that have missing or wrong information is not a “completed” order and will not ship the same day.
3. Emphasize that “most” orders ship the same day. The reality is that some orders cannot ship the same day. Bringing awareness to your customers the realities of eCommerce will save you “customer service” headaches in the future.
We reccomend using a statement that sets a realistic expectation such as: “Same day shipping on all completed orders before 5pm!* Include an asterisk after the statement to direct your customers to, “See the shipping policy page for more details.”
Step 2 – Advertise Your Speed
Use your same-day shipping policy to your advantage. When your customers see this policy promoted on your website, it provokes a buying impulse because consumers like the fast factor. Boost conversions by including it in your website header, encourage people to “Check out now” by adding it to the cart page and add it to the products page next to the “Order Now” button. Also, make sure that you are including it in your auto parts marketing campaign.
Step 3 – Follow-Up Quickly
When a customer places an order, they want to have the peace of mind that their order was received. They also want to know when the order was shipped. The best practice for customer follow-up is to send an automated email thanking them for their purchase and allowing them to review the order. When their item has shipped, follow-up with the shipping notification.
If, for whatever reason, the purchased item cannot ship on the same day, send an email to the customer stating that their purchase has been processed and give them a timeline when they can expect to receive their order. Customers appreciate your quick response and it shows that you take customer service seriously.
Are You Ready For an Effective eCommerce Shipping Strategy?
Putting an effective eCommerce shipping strategy in place for your auto parts store is one of the most impactful steps you can take to increase sales and grow your business online. It is imperative that when implementing a strategy such as same-day shipping that you use eCommerce best practices.
Be sure to assemble the right team. Every department in your organization has a job in relation to making same-day shipping work for your online store. Identifying the right people to help you achieve this form of service is crucial.
- Marketing – This is the most important piece of the strategy. An effective auto parts marketing team will help you define your goals and design a multi-faceted plan that will promote your same-day shipping online and reach your target audience.
- Web Design & Development – This team needs to make sure that the same-day shipping is being displayed in key spots on your website to encourage consumers to follow through with purchases.
- Fulfillment – This team needs to make sure that orders are being picked, packed and shipped accurately and on time. They need to establish a relationship with the service providers for same-day shipping and have a clear and concise operational method in place.
- Customer Service – The customer service team needs to know how your approach to shipping will affect customers at each stage of the customer lifecycle so they can answer questions appropriately.
If you use eCommerce for auto parts and you are ready to increase your sales, OEM Interactive is a result-driven, industry expert in auto parts sales and marketing. Our clients average a higher return on investment than the industry average. For every $1 spent on marketing, our clients average over $18 in return. The industry average is $6 in return.
OEM Interactive uses a multi-channel marketing strategy that is consistently refined based on consumer behavior to ensure maximum ROI. Let OEM Interactive handle all the dirty work with your auto parts marketing so you can get back to doing what you do best, selling auto parts.
Contact Us today and let our experts show you how we custom tailor your strategy to meet your goals and needs to ensure that you are communicating to the right customer at the right time.
