• by Ray Schultz , March 6, 2023

Merchants are missing an opportunity when sending tracking emails. 

Only 18% of brands send customers to a branded page with delivery updates, while 67% send a link to the carrier’s tracking page, according to State of Shipping, a study by Shippo. Another 15% answer “other.”

This capability is important because 45% of consumers want a retailer to let them know when an order is delivered.

In addition, 42% will only shop with that firm if it responds and resolves a lost package.  

However, the average shipping time is communicated by fewer than 50% of merchants. In addition, 45% of consumers say free return shipping is most important to them.  

That aside, merchants anticipate the following challenges in 2023: 

Cost of shipping — 36% 

Decreased consumer spending — 20% 

Customer acquisition — 13% 

Supply chain delays — 8%

In contrast, it looks like brands put their issues in this order in 2022: 

Cost of shipping — 41% 

Supply chain delays — 12% 

Decreased consumer spending — 11% 

Customer acquisition — 9% 

Asked what keeps them awake at night, 23% of merchants say looming recession and 20% the fear that consumers will cut out discretionary spending. 

Of the consumers surveyed, 60% say they prefer buying online, while 40% choose in-store. 

Shippo surveyed 1,191 ecommerce merchants and 1,000 consumers from November 10-December 14, 2022.