Online retailers evolve to retain customers in a tough economy, DHL says
In an uncertain market, e-tailers focus on shipping costs, flagging demand, parcel tracking, and regional fulfillment.
Online consumers are expected to be cost-conscious in their spending through 2023 as they face global and U.S. macroeconomic uncertainties, according to a market research study from DHL eCommerce Solutions.
Budgetary pressures are forcing consumers to make trade-offs and reallocate their budgets across purchase categories. And in turn, online merchants have made the cost of shipping—instead of the speed of delivery—their number one priority, DHL said in its “2023 E-tailers’ Almanac.”
DHL says the study is based on U.S. customer feedback and lightweight parcel industry developments over the last year, and is intended to help online merchants plan their shipments and identify overarching trends.
“What a difference one year can make. With order volumes down and less demand in capacity, our e-tailer customers’ priorities have evolved to ensure they retain customers in a tough economy,” Lee Spratt, CEO of DHL eCommerce Solutions, Americas, said in a release. “Overall cost, reliability, and visibility are some of the factors driving the e-commerce industry this year and at DHL eCommerce Solutions, we hope to partner with our online merchant customers to navigate together the year ahead.”
The study identified three other market trends in addition to cost-consciousness. According to DHL:
- The pandemic volume boom is gone, as markets return closer to their 2019 levels. The trend is due to online retailers facing margin pressures, a dip in demand, and cost and labor increases, resulting in many negotiating with multiple shipping carriers for the most economical and reliable service.
- After price, the top shipping needs are reliability, proactive real-time visibility, and tracking. As a result, the company expects to see increased investments among logistics providers in data analytics and instant tracking and transportation disruption notification capabilities.
- As supply chain bottlenecks ease and market conditions stabilize, DHL expects to see a return to long-term shipping trends such as regionalization of demand. That approach helps e-commerce merchants get closer to their end consumers and save on transportation costs, the company said.