{"id":248066,"date":"2023-09-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stamps.com\/?p=248066"},"modified":"2024-05-15T16:19:33","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T16:19:33","slug":"ways-to-align-with-customer-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stamps.com\/article\/ways-to-align-with-customer-expectations\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Ways to Align with Ecommerce Customer Expectations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Customers have plenty of shopping options at their fingertips, so you need to make your business stand out from the competition. There are many ways to get your business in front of a larger audience, but a few simple tweaks will make your brand shine. In our study, Protect Your Growth Strategy: 2023 Consumer & Merchant Benchmark Report, we surveyed customers and merchants alike to help your business align with customer expectations. Opening your store to social media sites, providing free returns, and communicating shipping information can be game changers. While they may sound small, these three changes show customers that you value their input and preferences. <\/p>\n\n

Sell on social media channels  <\/h2>\n\n

Social media platforms are becoming increasingly popular with shoppers; Facebook<\/a> is leading the pack with Instagram not far behind. In our study, we found over 50% of customers stated they purchased products through Facebook and almost 40% purchased through Instagram. While TikTok proved to be the third most popular social media sales channel, Gen Z (those born between 1997-2013) seems to be the main age demographic purchasing from the platform; other age groups are more likely to purchase from Facebook. <\/p>\n\n

Consumers are buying on social media platforms. Your business has the chance to showcase products to an entirely new audience. Additionally, the benefits of social media platforms are two-fold. Not only can you sell products through Facebook and Instagram, but you can also promote your store by posting reels, stories, and photos<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

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Winning strategies for engaging on social media<\/h2>\n\n

Social media posts are more impactful than you may think. Remember the last time you scrolled through your Facebook or Instagram account. How many ads and\/or posts featured product links? More importantly, how many of those links immediately led you to the product listing or started a cart for you? <\/p>\n\n

Customers browse social media in the same way. Highlight products in a way that would catch your attention. Create posts with links to your store or the social media platform\u2019s selling channel to make shopping convenient. Encourage shoppers to enable notifications for product releases. When it comes to selling on social media, help your business stand out by keeping your posts eye-catching and the shopping experience as easy as possible.  <\/p>\n\n

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The benefits of multichannel selling <\/h2>\n\n

Don\u2019t let the connotation of multichannel selling scare you away from meeting your customers where they\u2019re shopping. Whether it be on social media platforms or marketplaces like Amazon, follow consumer trends. Marketing products on social media is only one piece of the puzzle; it showcases your products to those already following. However, expanding your selling channels to the likes of Amazon and eBay<\/a> opens your business up to more opportunities. For example, Amazon<\/a> shoppers are given recommendations based on their buying habits, so your products can be shown to a much larger audience. <\/p>\n\n

Additionally, both Amazon and eBay<\/a> can be integrated into your Stamps.com account. Once integrated, orders with payment received will automatically sync into your account where labels can be created. After your label is printed, Stamps.com will post the tracking information back to each marketplace for shipment notification emails, and the orders will be marked in each marketplace as shipped. You can keep track of all of your orders in one place instead of multiple windows, making multichannel selling all the easier. <\/p>\n\n

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This is how the Amazon store will appear in your Stamps.com account. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

Offer easy and free returns <\/h2>\n\n

Return policies are becoming an increasingly important deciding factor for customers. In fact, our study showed that 44% of customers stated they\u2019re less likely to shop from a store with a difficult returns process. If you haven\u2019t revisited your return policy recently, walk through the process from a customer\u2019s perspective. Update any information you find confusing or unclear. Chances are, if something doesn\u2019t make sense to you, it won\u2019t make sense to your customers. <\/p>\n\n

Customers also prefer carrier drop-off<\/a> options for returns. One way to include this option is to offer prepaid returns through a QR Code<\/a> or printable label. This way, your customers can simply package their return and drop it off at their local carrier. <\/p>\n\n

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This is an example of a return QR Code from Stamps.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Along with a clear returns policy, customers also expect free returns. With 81% of customers in our study stating businesses should offer free returns, it\u2019s worth considering. Stamps.com merchants have access to affordable rates<\/a> that can help offset the cost of free returns. <\/p>\n\n

Also, USPS offers free shipping supplies<\/a> you can order directly from your Stamps.com account. These supplies can then be sent to your customers for returns or used for your shipments. Either way, Stamps.com provides you with options to help offer free returns to customers. With our study showing 66% of merchants not offering free returns, you can rise above the competition by meeting customer expectations. <\/p>\n\n

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\u201cThe consumer started expecting free outbound shipping, albeit at a threshold, about a decade ago. Now, free returns are an expectation, and the consumer need for free returns is growing. In some ways, this makes sense \u2013 consumers have to do quite a bit more work when returning a shipment, whether it is initiating the return itself with the retailer, printing the shipping label, finding packaging, scheduling the pickup or dropping off the package.\u201d – Krish Iyer, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Industry Relations at Auctane<\/p>\n\n

Tips for crafting a better return policy<\/h3>\n\n