How to Strengthen CX by Empowering Customers with Options

It’s no secret that today’s shoppers expect their online purchases to arrive quickly. Despite the turmoil with supply chains and increase of porch pirate theft, they also expect their packages to arrive safely. But it can be difficult for merchants to guarantee that every order arrives in premium condition. The needs of consumers have shifted from speed to a seamless post-purchase experience, and companies should refocus their delivery efforts to continue to drive revenue and brand loyalty.

Consumer Demand for Package Protection

Consumers want choices, and not just around dictating package arrival times. They’re also actively seeking options to protect the items they buy online. In fact, recent research from UPS Capital shows that 65% of consumers would be interested in the option to add coverage for their packages to specific online orders.

It is no different with merchants, who are also expressing a strong interest in consumer-elected shipping protection. Offering consumers the option to elect and pay for shipping protection allows merchants the ability to reship and reimburse their customer with confidence, which helps maintain their reputation. A majority of surveyed SMBs (86%) believe that providing consumer-elected protection options will have a positive impact on their business.

With the InsureShield^® App for Shopify, merchants meet the demand expressed by consumers for a more flexible, customized solution. Businesses can opt to insure orders themselves or offer customers the ability to elect shipping protection at checkout. Merchants can even personalize their approach with back-end rules that protect orders even if the consumer opts out of shipping protection.

How RAE Solutions, LLC strengthened CX with coverage through the InsureShield^® App for Shopify

For instance, RAE Solutions, LLC, a family owned and operated business, identified porch piracy as an imminent threat to shipping their high value door lifts and racks to Jeep^® Wrangler and Gladiator owners. Recognizing that any losses would fall back on them, the team downloaded UPS Capital’s InsureShield^® App for Shopify and enabled the consumer-elected protection feature, allowing customers the ability to personalize their post-purchase experience.

For their customers, this added protection delivered peace of mind that any issues with their shipment could be resolved quickly and easily. For RAE Solutions, LLC, InsureShield^® shipping protection helped the team feel confident that their bottom line and reputation were protected.

“Establishing proper shipping techniques and avoiding any errors in the beginning is crucial. Not only from a revenue standpoint, but for the relationship we’re trying to build with customers,” said John Schultheis, co-inventor and co-owner of RAE Solutions, LLC.

Empowering Customers with Options

While two-day shipping has long been the industry standard, giving customers control over the shipping experience will be the new frontier of eCommerce. Eighty percent of today’s consumers would prioritize other perks over two-day shipping – indicating that expedited shipping is no longer the eCommerce “holy grail” with last mile anxieties increasing. Merchants who pivot their offerings to give consumers more options and more say will stay ahead of the competition in 2023 and beyond.