Saks Off 5th opens delivery visibility in time for holidays
Saks Off 5th online shoppers no longer have to wait until their order is shipped to see the arrival date.
The SaksOff5th.com luxury off-price e-commerce site is launching a new Guaranteed Delivery Date feature, timed for the start of the holiday shopping season. The e-tail arm of Saks Off 5th now offers a real-time calculated delivery date throughout the shopping experience for thousands of items available on its site.
Saks Off 5th online customers will now have an expected delivery date provided to them, whether they are browsing on a product detail page or at checkout. A concrete delivery date will now be provided for all possible shipping methods at checkout.
The retailer is rolling out its delivery visibility offering through in-house technology development, fulfillment center enhancements, and a carrier diversification project, in partnership premium shipping and fulfillment technology platform Shipium.
In 2021, Saks Off 5th began working to diversify its carrier network in order to get customers their orders in the fastest, most efficient way possible. Working with Shipium, the company has expanded its partnerships with multiple regional carriers, while it says it is improving delivery speed and accuracy.
By introducing Guaranteed Delivery Date at the start of the holiday season, SaksOff5th.com has extended shipping deadlines for Christmas by three days. The e-tailer has also launched new shipping methods for the holiday season, including expedited and next-day delivery. Guaranteed Delivery Date is now available for thousands of items on SaksOff5th.com.
"Before Guaranteed Delivery Date, SaksOff5th.com customers were presented with a standard delivery time frame for each item, regardless of destination, which meant items shipping to New York, Seattle or Hawaii all had the same shipping period of three to five business days," said Shivi Shankaran, COO, SaksOff5th.com.
"With our new logistics capabilities now in place, we're able to analyze all of the many factors that go into estimating a delivery date, such as where the product is, where it needs to go, who can help us deliver, and provide a concrete date for when customers will receive their package based on when they order,” said Shankaran. “By introducing a customer-centric approach to our delivery experience, we're making it easier to shop with Saks Off 5th than ever before."
Saks Off 5th operates more than 100 stores in the U.S. and Canada, as well as the SaksOff5th.com e-commerce site.
Survey: Delivery issues motivate holiday shoppers
A recent survey of global consumers from Oracle Retail indicates that delivery is a top-of-mind concern for holiday shoppers. Home delivery (56%) is the most popular method for respondents to the Oracle survey to collect items bought online, compared to curbside (21%) or in-store pick up (16%). In addition, 47% of respondents said fast delivery often determines who they will order from, while 62% are willing to pay more for expedited/guaranteed delivery.