In this post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about delivery notifications, including why, when, and how to incorporate them into your e-commerce customer journey. 

You’ve almost certainly experienced a delivery notification before. Maybe you got an email from Amazon when your latest order shipped, a text message on your phone from a cosmetics company when your recurring order was out for delivery, or even a push notification from a FedEx or UPS that your package is ‘out for delivery’. 

What delivery notifications offer to customers

We’ll run through the specific benefits of delivery notifications below, but, in general, the informed delivery they create has a lot to offer customers, including: 

  • Providing a seamless experience. Once they’ve clicked the buy button, customers should be able to sit back and relax without worrying about their delivery status.
  • Improving retention. In today’s crowded marketplace, even a minor delivery setback can cause your customers to turn to another brand. Convey’s research found that 83% of customers won’t buy from a brand again if they have just one bad delivery experience
  • Boosting customer satisfaction. Strong communication via delivery notifications can leave customers with a good impression — even if there’s been a delivery exception. You can mitigate customer issues with transparency and communication

Why do delivery notifications matter?

Today, delivery notifications make up the bulk of the post-purchase experience — that is, the time between when a customer confirms an order by clicking the buy button and when their package shows up on their doorstep. 

These days, customers want visibility. They want a tracking number, tracking updates, estimated delivery dates, even email notifications. Deliveries are now about managing expectations and diminishing stress on the customer end. And delivery notifications are the best tool to do just that. 

Centralizing your tracking data and refining that into a clear message for the consumer can be difficult though, which is why APIs and other emergent technologies are needed to take your delivery notifications to the next level.

Benefits and key features of delivery notifications

When used correctly, delivery notifications offer a wealth of specific and generalized benefits to your brand. 

Benefit #1: Real-time updates

It’s an unavoidable fact — today’s customers want real-time updates, with 77% of consumers saying they have a positive perception of companies that use texts to keep them updated about their orders. Finding ways to give your customers the most up-the-minute information is critical.

Businesses that automate their customer communications and integrate them with their CRM are in the best position to offer their customers informed delivery. Convey offers the best AI-driven approach to delivery notifications out there, with tracking updates speeds that consistently outstrip the competition.

Benefit #2: Issue resolution

Obviously, you need to know there’s a problem with incoming packages before your customer does, but ideally you need to have a solution to that problem before the customer’s even aware it exists. Being able to proactively offer solutions when incoming packages are delayed won’t only improve customer trust. It can also save the day and prevent churn.

In other words, delivery notifications give you more control of the narrative, which is really what informed delivery is all about. You can choose to notify customers when their order is experiencing delivery issues and keep them informed about the steps you’re taking to fix the problem. Of course, identifying those in the first place takes a certain type of know-how.

With more than 6 billion shipments running through its platform, Convey offers machine learning models that get smarter with every day — and every shipment. These predictive insights mean Convey can predict missed delivery estimated delivery dates up to 33 hours before a carrier does, flagging potentially missed shipments with 96% precision.

“Customers really appreciate being in the loop and alerted when there’s an unforeseen delay,” explains M.C. Halfpenny, Director of Operations at UncommonGoods, where Convey’s platform goes a long way towards increasing customer trust. “Rather than causing them to be angry, often UncommonGoods looks like the hero because we’re being so proactive.”

Benefit #3: Multiple formats of delivery and customizable messages

Clearly, you need to communicate with customers (93% expect to receive proactive shipment updates). In today’s digital-driven environment, world-class communication strategies focus on reaching customers where they are — that is, through their preferred messaging channel.

But what are the preferred messaging channels? We found that when a delivery exception occurs, shoppers prefer email notifications (50%) to SMS (21%), phone calls (12%), and tracking page updates (8%). But even when you’re determined where to reach your customers, figuring out how best to convey the information is still important.

Timely delivery notifications can improve customer satisfaction and boost NPS. With Convey, you can create customizable alerts — think branded tracking pages and SMS messages — that allow you to own the customer communication strategy, presenting delivery notifications that seamlessly mirror your brand presence.

Benefit #4: Integrations with ecosystem partners

When choosing a platform to manage your delivery notifications, it’s important to recognize you may need to think outside of the box. In other words, it’s critical to have the flexibility you need. That’s something that Convey has worked hard to offers its retailers, partnering with services like Salesforce, Zendesk, Zembula, and others to offer the most diverse set of functionalities on the market.

With ConveyPLUS, retailers can connect with the best partners to weather the next wave in innovation, staying on their toes and remaining flexible in today’s shifting e-commerce ecosystem. At the same time, ConveyPLUS streamlines collaboration by organizing all the moving parts in your unique system and centralizing disparate data.

Cost and pricing

Cost and pricing for delivery notifications can be difficult to calculate for a wide range of reasons. Aiming for an API-driven messaging system, for instance, often entails set-up costs, while the more complex you want your delivery notifications to be can often increase the base rate per notification. 

Fortunately, flexibility in functionality also means flexibility when it comes to pricing — for more specific information, get in touch with Convey today

Delivery notifications FAQ

We’ve covered a lot of ground when it comes to delivery notifications, but you may still have questions as you look to invest in delivery notifications. We’ve provided quick answers to the top three:

How do delivery notifications work, and why should our company use them?

Delivery notifications work by converting tracking information into digestible updates that customers can receive via their preferred messaging channel. Generally, they improve customer loyalty, cut down on customer service costs, and reduce churn.

Can you customize delivery notifications?

It depends on the provider, but Convey offers customizable delivery notifications that mirror your brand’s look, feel, and style.

Can customers communicate back to their retailers using delivery notifications?

It depends on the type of delivery notification, but with the best delivery notifications, you can send your customers messages with prompts and links or an SMS that enables them to respond directly to your notification.