A shopper puts a product in their virtual shopping cart, enters their payment details and clicks to confirm their purchase. What happens next? Increasingly, customers expect a way to track their e-commerce delivery as it moves from your store to their door. One study found more than two-thirds of consumers want to know where their order is at all points in the delivery journey. 

But many senders and their current delivery partners aren’t equipped to provide that level of order tracking. As a result, they may struggle to troubleshoot customer questions about order status or discover a missed delivery only after a customer tells them about the error. Not having those answers can hurt your reputation and your bottom line: More than a third of consumers would change retailers after a negative delivery experience, a Metapack survey found.

Shoppers may even take for granted that all retailers will offer order tracking for e-commerce delivery. Nine in 10 consumers in the same survey said order tracking was “important” or “very important.” Meanwhile, only one in 10 said they value tracking most in their deliveries from online retailers. (Cost and speed topped the list, with around three in 10 respondents prioritizing each.)

Senders of all sizes want to grow their business and their customer base. Live tracking can be an important key to accomplishing that goal. In a survey from Bringg, 61% of retailers said their top challenge to scaling delivery was a lack of real-time visibility once orders are out for delivery.

Crowdsourced e-commerce delivery can help small and midsize businesses nail live order tracking

Tracking order progress in real time becomes even more important as retailers add same-day delivery in response to consumer demand for faster order arrivals. More than half (53%) of consumers in one survey said shipping and delivery is one of the most frustrating parts of online ordering. And a third (34%) said shipping times felt slower than usual lately. 

That’s where crowdsourcing comes in. Real-time tracking is baked right into crowdsourced delivery. Roadie’s platform is built on the real-time availability of the driver network, so you can offer customers both the on-demand delivery and the transparency they expect from retailers today. (Plus, with Roadie retailers can deliver any size item in as little as two hours.)

Roadie’s crowdsourced delivery platform includes several features that help you and your customers know where orders are at all times:

• Live tracking. Customers can see when the order leaves your store and watch in real time as it progresses toward their location. Your team can follow along, too. With out-of-the-box tracking and data pushed to any system, you and your customers can keep close tabs on orders from store to door. 
• Photographic chain of custody. Photos and text updates at key points help you ensure orders arrive safely and flag any issues along the way. Plus, customers can see where orders were dropped off to ensure quick retrieval. Roadie’s app also gives shoppers the option to sign for deliveries, so you’ll have confirmation that important orders made it into the right hands.
• Delivery notes. Communicate directly with drivers in the Roadie app so they have the information needed to quickly pick up the order, safely carry it and correctly deliver it to the right address. Use our custom templates to make sharing delivery notes easy for repeat or frequent orders.

Improving visibility through better tracking gives your team and your customers greater peace of mind. But that’s not the only way to build trust and confidence in your business. 

With crowdsourced delivery through Roadie, you can also offer customers the benefit of a personalized handoff. The pre-screened drivers who use Roadie are already on the road in the communities where you’re delivering. That means your customers can expect a friendly neighborhood face with each order. And with store-to-door delivery, fewer items are transported in each vehicle, so you and your customers have a better idea of each order’s true status.

Take the next step toward offering customers the live tracking and personalization they expect from your brand. Click here to learn how to add crowdsourced delivery with Roadie to your store-to-door delivery toolkit.