Messages during shipping
Online Shopping & Delivery — Part 4
Research of the Hungarian market
In recent years, everyone has experienced how the world of online shopping has changed our lives. The exponential growth of online purchases and the widespread use of online platforms have created new opportunities for businesses, while providing consumers with convenient and fast access to a wide range of products and services.
Based on our research into online order delivery, in this series of articles we will present users' expectations and experiences of online order payment, delivery and communication during the process.
A non-representative online questionnaire, in-depth interviews and desk research preceded this article. In our questionnaire survey, we interviewed participants between the ages of 16 and 75.
Online Shopping & Delivery Series
We introduce the preferred payment methods among customers. We explore the criteria they use to make decisions and their attitude towards the increasingly popular virtual card payments.
#2 — The Economic Effects of COVID-19
We discuss the economic impact on online shopping. We look at whether the change in shopping habits during the Covid period has continued, and we outline how the growing inflationary environment may influence users' decisions regarding payment and delivery methods.
In this article, we take a look at customer feedback on different delivery methods and preferences. We also discuss how the choice of delivery method by product category influences customers, as well as what they think about environmentally friendly delivery methods.
#4 - Messages during shipping
From the moment of ordering, the status of the ordered products and communication related to pickup are crucial. In this article, we have focused on which messages and notifications are considered important by customers.
In this article, we discuss customers' perceptions of the safety of online shopping, what items they return, and their fears and expectations of shopping on international websites.
You have one new message
Notifications and emails play a crucial role in online shopping, serving as an important communication channel between businesses and consumers. Timely notifications, such as order confirmations, shipping updates and delivery notifications, keep customers informed of the status of their purchases and enhance the overall shopping experience. Notifications related to pickup play a significant role in the customer experience. The "Successful order" message is the most important for respondents, regardless of the chosen pickup method. Customers primarily expect pickup-related messages from the delivery company. The least informative messages are those indicating that the package is moving between warehouses. Depending on the chosen delivery method, preferences for messages vary.
The preferred primary communication channel for customers, especially concerning home delivery, is email. If the delivery takes longer, customers often track their packages through emails. The "Successful order" message arrives immediately after the purchase, but afterward, the most important message for them is the expected arrival time of the courier. They do not appreciate receiving an email notification about the courier's arrival only on the morning of pickup, as they often cannot prepare adequately. If the email communication is sufficiently informative, they do not feel the need for further tracking.
1. chart: The most important messages about the package
Messages during food delivery
The digital world has opened up many opportunities in recent years, allowing us not only to buy tech products and clothes online, but also to skip cooking on a lazy day by ordering food to our homes with just a few clicks. Dedicated phone applications allow users to browse a wide range of restaurants, check prices and promotions, and easily pay online for their chosen meals. However, when it comes to food delivery, expectations vary and customers often prioritise speed of delivery. According to feedback from participants in the study, customers expect their food orders to be delivered within a maximum of 1 hour from the time the order is placed.
For home delivery, only in the case of food orders do customer preferences differ in terms of messages. In this case, they primarily expect notifications through the app and they don’t really follow any messages through e-mail. For food orders, the message that the courier has taken the package is considered much more important than in other home delivery scenarios, as delivery typically takes a short time after this stage.
2. chart: The most important message during ordering food from restaurants
For pickup at parcel points and lockers, the most important information is when the package can be picked up. They find pre-notifications or messages about the courier taking the package less informative. Here, too, they primarily expect information through email, but they also find SMS and Viber messages attention-grabbing.
In the case of in-person pickup, the message "when the product can be picked up" is considered the most important after the "Successful order" message.
We were also curious about the channels they currently use to receive their order notifications. 62% of our respondents believe that regardless of whether they started their purchase using a mobile application or a browser, they still expect to receive email notifications of all statuses.
3. chart: The preferred channels for notifications about incoming packages
Where is my package?
People track their online orders in various ways, and now it has become an integral part of the modern shopping experience. Consumers appreciate the convenience of being able to monitor the real-time status and location of their orders, giving them transparency and peace of mind in the delivery process. Whether it's a parcel or grocery delivery, online order tracking increases customer satisfaction by providing visibility and updates on the journey of their purchases from the retailer to their doorstep.
Almost half of the respondents focus only on the essential statuses, while 33% follow all status notifications. 12% of respondents track the package only if it takes a long time to arrive, while 9% pay attention to statuses only for specific product categories.
4. chart: Importance of package tracking
Age groups also have different attitudes towards package tracking. The younger age group (15-25 years) tends to track all status notifications, because they spend more time on internet, while those aged 46 and above prefer to follow only the essential statuses.