A great delivery experience can help drive your online success1, something that’s top of mind for peak shopping events this year. In this article, we capture what we've learnt from customers about the things that help shape the best delivery experience. These practical tips are designed to help online retailers drive customer satisfaction and repeat customers.
Ahead of the upcoming Peak sales season (a period of increased online sales from October – December) we want to ensure you are set up for success. However you’ll find that these 10 tips are just as effective any time of the year.
1. Use the right branding
NZ Post is the most trusted delivery provider in New Zealand2 and we know this because we regularly track your customers perception of our brand and measure their satisfaction with our service. Using the right NZ Post branding means consistency for your customer expectations and benefits your brand.
Shoppers like to know at the checkout who is delivering their parcel, so telling them you use NZ Post can mean that:
- They feel confident that their item will be delivered when they expect it3.
- When the NZ Post van arrives in their driveway, they already recognise the delivery of your parcel during this busy shopping period.
Therefore, it is important to ensure our branding is up to date. Make sure you use our most current logo on your website and packaging. You can also ensure the delivery service matches our description: Courier, Express and Express Tonight.
Check out our resource hub for a guide to branding.
2. Creating the right delivery expectations on your website
Don't hide the delivery options behind the shopping cart, promote them prominently on your website as a competitive advantage and one more reason for shoppers to buy from you. This is especially true if you have options like Express – a same day delivery service - that your competitors might not offer.
Be open about estimated delivery timeframes. Build your team’s processing time into these delivery estimates so that the right expectations are set.
HELPFUL TIP:
Add an extra day for your team to process orders if you know it will take them more time over the busy period. Update your website accordingly to set expectations.
3. Giving your customers delivery options
Customers want more delivery options. A quarter of customers recently surveyed4 are not satisfied with the range of delivery options offered in New Zealand stores.
Offer delivery options that cater for a variety of delivery needs. From getting it delivered today, to economy delivery which is priced accordingly, right through to the option to click-and-collect.
More delivery options can be the reason a customer chooses you over another retailer. And providing faster options over Peak gives your customers the reassurance, for example, that an important Christmas gift for a relative will arrive on time.
Courier Economy  | Courier  | Express (Express Tonight)  |
2-3 working days* Cost-effectively send tracked parcels within New Zealand. View full details here | Next working day* An overnight service for sending tracked parcels within New Zealand. View full details here | 30 minutes to same day* Urgent same day, door-to-door courier service with live GPS tracking. View full details here |
Delivery Times
*Delivery targets are a guide only. Delivery between some major towns and cities, and to and from rural areas may take longer.
^Maximum parcel size and weight: 25kg weight limit, 0.125m3 volume, 1.5m in length.
#For Saturday delivery a green Saturday ticket is required when sending Courier Items on Friday; not available to Rural addresses.
~ rural delivery will take a minimum of an additional 2 days to process and deliver.
4. Win your customers over with visibility
Our latest eCommerce Market Sentiments research with shoppers told us that visibility of order tracking is the second highest reason to choose an online store. This shows the importance of, not only offering tracking options to customers, but calling attention to the fact that you do before they buy. You’ll be rewarded with more satisfied customers while also reducing the pressure on your customer service teams.
Notifications  | Ultimately, shoppers want to know when to expect their parcel so they can be home when it arrives. NZ Post offers accurate estimated time of delivery (ETA) and services like live GPS tracking (Express only). Email and text notifications should be sent to alert shoppers when the item has been dispatched, when it's on its way, and when it has been delivered. Our experience is that notifications improved first-time delivery rates by up to 50% and drive higher receiver satisfaction4. Target Delivery Notifications (New) |
Authority to Leave  | Let your customers know that they can set up a Leave My Parcel request. This means that when they are not home their parcels (excluding R18 items) can be left somewhere safe. You can also capture any special delivery instructions at the checkout, giving shoppers confidence that their parcel will be left somewhere they feel is safe (e.g. 'leave under BBQ'). |
MAKING IT EASY FOR YOU:
96% of people using NZ Post tracking are either very satisfied or satisfied with the ease of the experience6.
5. Send your parcels with a Photo on Delivery
All items with tracking can now have a photo taken by the delivery driver. The photo is then captured and displayed online, or on the app, to show the parcel was delivered and where it was left. This is added peace-of-mind for your customers and for you.
All sensitive information in the photo is blurred out.
56% of customers said blurring personal information is important – even more so for ages 18-24 and over 65 year olds5.
Find out more on our website: https://www.nzpost.co.nz/business/photo-required
6. Use the NZ Post app
Let your customers know that they can also use the NZ Post mobile app to track their parcels on the go. With over 300,000 downloads, the NZ Post app is widely used, with nearly 79% of people using it more than twice to track a parcel on its journey6.
From the NZ Post app, customers can benefit from the visibility features in number 4. And customers can view the photo, use GPS tracking, and get all notifications in the app.
7. Make returns easy.
The latest eCommerce Market Sentiments Report revealed that 25% of Kiwis say easy returns is one of the most important factors when deciding which online store to shop with*. Our latest data also shows that 78% of online shoppers are more likely to trust an online store if they offer easy returns6.
Give shoppers confidence that they can return something, if it's not right, by displaying your return policy in a way that's easily found. Making returns simple reduces the barriers to purchase, builds trust and can lead to more satisfied customers.
Include a tracked returns label with your parcels, making it easier for shoppers to return an item if it’s not suitable.
Read more about returns here.
8. Incentivise delivery
A key learning from our latest eCommerce Market Sentiments Report is that, in this tough economic environment, customers are looking to make their money go further. A successful way we have seen online retailers respond to this is to offer discounted shipping, or free shipping after a certain spend. This value-add offer not only encourages shoppers to buy from you but to also to spend more.
Leading eCommerce business HealthPost, for example, offer free shipping to those spending over $50 online. This has helped them in increasing sales and retaining customers.
9. Kiwi shoppers still prefer Kiwi stores
The eCommerce Market Sentiments Report showed us that being a NZ-based business was the third most likely reason to shop with a particular retailer. Kiwis not only want to support local businesses and our economy but it has benefits for them as well. Local delivery is not only quicker but also generally cheaper, making it an advantage when competing with international retailers. And during Peak season, shoppers feel more confident that local deliveries will arrive on time.
Make sure that you let your customers know that you are local. This is something that owner of Stealth Ride, Steve Kerr, has been able to capitalise on:
“We found that many Kiwis are nervous about spending money overseas with the rise of scams and fraudulent websites and sellers. We make sure customers know they are buying from a Kiwi business. Having a trusted Kiwi brand, like NZ Post, deliver their items is an added bonus.”
10. Reinforce a positive experience
Once an item is purchased on your website, it’s journey and your customer communications are an integral part of the overall positive shopping experience. If you haven’t already, take a look at your post-purchase journey messages and the tools you are using to ensure it achieves the best outcome for your customers’ experience.
“Using CRM or marketing automation system allows for a better experience overall; NZ Post’s Parcel Notifications work alongside your system” says Sabih Anwar, NZ Post Digital Communications Manager; “Marketing automation capabilities are moving at pace and it’s not just about using the latest AI tools, simplifying the messaging is important so your busy customers only receive what they need to know.”
Our notification options, including NZ Post Parcel Notifications and our NZ Post Parcel Track Webhook, allow you to inform your customers where their parcels are in real time, and work alongside your marketing automation platforms.
This means once the item is delivered your customers can either receive an NZ Post notification or use our NZ Post Parcel Track Webhook to trigger your own delivered email that asks your customers about their experience and follow up with any further product recommendations or information.
BONUS TIP: GET THE ADDRESS & INSTRUCTIONS RIGHT
Use NZ Post's Parcel Address API or Shopify plugin (NZ Post Address Search) to avoid misspelled addresses or incorrect postcodes that require manual intervention into an automated parcel sorting process. Ensure all shopper instructions are clearly displayed on your shipping labels, so drivers know exactly what to do.
1 Delivery Experience, NZ Post, 2023 TRA Research
2 Receiver Monitor, NZ Post 2024
3 Brand Tracker,
4 Consumer Receiver Monitor, May 2024
5 Receiver Monitor, NZ Post 2024
6 Consumer Receiving Experience, NZ Post 2024
