Amazon’s Zappos unit topped the list of fast holiday shippers in a study conducted by Kurt Salmon and StellaService. The study analyzed shipping times for orders placed on Cyber Monday from over 50 retailers across a broad range of categories, including traditional big boxes, specialty retailers and online-only e-tailers. It found that retailers in the top-five delivered multi-unit orders in an average of 2.9 days.
Retailers that ranked at the top of the list pulled out all the stops to offer fast and free shipping and deliver an exceptional customer experience despite the increased order volume, according to the study.
The list of top five companies for holiday shipping are the following:
- Zappos: 1 day
- Barneys New York: 3 days
- NET-A-PORTER: 3 days
- Costco: 3.3 days
- Neiman Marcus: 4.4 days
What the Top Five Are Doing Right
The study found that the top-five retailers delivered multi-unit Cyber Monday orders in an average of 2.9 days, which was less than half the average fulfillment time of 6.2 days achieved by retailers in the analysis. In comparison to Cyber Monday, off-peak average fulfillment time was quicker, coming in at 5.3 days.
According to Michelle Bogan, partner in Kurt Salmon’s Retail and Consumer Products Group, “The slower fulfillment time for Cyber Monday orders in the overall study indicates that many retailers forecasted less demand, perhaps due to slow economic growth. But ecommerce continues to boom as free shipping and guaranteed product availability increase the convenience factor. Retailers at the top of their game for fulfillment will adjust forecasts, retrain or increase staff in distribution centers and be better prepared for later peak order times.”
In addition to fast delivery, top retailers offered free shipping: 70% of retailers in the study offered free shipping with Cyber Monday orders. Other qualities Kurt Salmon examined were: Focus on Presentation, such as wrapping items in tissue paper or including thank you notes with orders;
Kurt Salmon in partnership with StellaService will publish the full results of their fulfillment analysis, including single-unit orders, in the first quarter of 2014.
