It isn't all about speed, says Satish Natarajan, founder and chief executive officer of DispatchTrack. E-commerce shoppers are more concerned about communication — having real-time information about the status of their orders and shipments.

With the COVID-19 pandemic has come an acceleration of customer expectations around delivery of e-commerce orders, Natarajan. And it’s not just happening in the U.S. — “It’s across the globe.” 

E-commerce shoppers look for three major elements in their ordering: choice, communication and predictability. The last is especially important, Natarajan says. “It’s OK for things to be delayed, but they want to know when they’re going to be there.” So much for the stereotype of the shopper who is solely obsessed with speed of delivery.

Are retailers stepping up to meet those demands? There’s plenty of room for improvement, Natarajan says, citing a recent study on big and bulky shipments which found that 60% of buyers didn’t know where their deliveries were. It’s vital that retailers keep them apprised of the status of orders, including any changes in scheduling. “People don’t want delivery to be an all-day event,” he says. “They just want vendors to help them out.”

Amazon.com has raised the bar on customer expectations, but it only handles between 10% and 12% of all deliveries, so the rest of the retail industry has a ways to go before matching that level of performance. Despite Amazon’s dominance as an e-tailer, “It’s a much more fragmented market,” says Natarajan.

Along with higher expectations of service comes the need to make last-mile logistics sustainable. Natarajan says customers should be given the choice of “greener” options such as delayed delivery and consolidation of multiple orders. At the same time, carriers need to pursue opportunities to increase density within their delivery areas, thereby reducing their overall carbon footprint.