Lower Supply Chain Costs in eCommerce with Experience Analytics
International customers are often unaware of additional import duties or taxes until payment, leading to returns and increased costs for retailers.
The allure of online shopping is often its simplicity and convenience - a couple of clicks, and your desired product is on its way to your doorstep. This convenience has been further amplified by the offer of free shipping by many online retailers, a factor that can make or break a sale. However, one of the growing challenges in international e-commerce is the sudden, unexpected additional cost - import duties or taxes.
Unfortunately, many customers remain oblivious to these additional costs until the time they're required to pay, causing them to feel deceived. They may have missed the information on the retailer's website or overlooked it during the checkout process. This unexpected charge often results in the return of products, leading to unnecessary shipping costs for the retailer and a poor customer experience (CX).
According to Statista, the return delivery costs in the United States alone amounted to about 550 billion USD in 2020, a massive 75.2% increase from four years prior. And it’s not just the direct financial impact that is concerning - the damage to the brand reputation can be even more costly.
One might wonder how this problem arises. Studies reveal that an average user only reads 20% of the content on a web page during a visit. Moreover, Chartbeat analytics suggests that 66% of attention on a normal media page is spent below the fold. Thus, key information like shipping and returns policies or import duties and taxes often go unnoticed.
This is where Insightech comes into play.
Insightech's sophisticated website optimisation and experience analytics can help identify areas where customers might be missing essential information. By tracking how users interact with your website and what information they view, Insightech can help tailor the website to your customers' behaviour.
Here are a few suggestions you could try to solve this problem:
- Make the information more visible: Ensure that key information about shipping returns policies and potential additional costs are prominently displayed. Contextual insights from interactive session replay are key.
- Utilise pop-ups or banners: If crucial information is located lower on the page consider using banners or pop-ups to ensure that the information is seen.
- Streamline the checkout process: Provide customers with a detailed breakdown of the costs involved during the checkout process, including any potential additional fees like import duties or taxes.
- Personalise the customer experience: By offering tailored content based on the customer's location, you can provide region-specific information about the additional costs they might incur.
Supply chain managers can leverage these insights to reduce costs and improve the overall customer experience. In a highly competitive retail market, this level of transparency can be the distinguishing factor that secures customer loyalty and protects your brand reputation.
Are you curious about how Insightech can help keep your supply chain costs down? Visit Insightech to ask a question and discover how website experience analytics can drive your website optimisation projects. Let's turn these hidden challenges into visible opportunities.
Key takeaways:
- The challenge of hidden costs in e-commerce: International customers are often unaware of additional import duties or taxes until payment, leading to returns, increased costs for retailers, and damaged customer experience. This is partly due to the fact that users typically only read 20% of web page content, often missing key information.
- The impact on businesses: Return delivery costs are enormous, with Statista reporting costs of 550 billion USD in the U.S. alone in 2020. Aside from direct financial impacts, these issues can severely tarnish your brand reputation.
- The role of Insightech and suggested solutions: Insightech's website optimization and experience analytics can help identify where customers are missing crucial information. Suggestions include making this information more visible, using pop-ups or banners, streamlining the checkout process with a detailed cost breakdown, and personalizing customer experiences based on location. This can reduce costs, improve customer experience, and enhance brand reputation in a competitive market.
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