Ahead of the ecommerce curve
CANNY CANADIAN RETAILERS ARE FINDING SUCCESS BY UTILIZING CUSTOMER- FRIENDLY SERVICE
When Purdy’s Chocolates launched its ecommerce site in 1999, the logistical side was a big unknown for the company, says Peter Higgins, president and chocolate scientist in Vancouver. “We didn’t even know if we could put chocolates in the mail, or what kind of infrastructure we would need.”
It didn’t take long for Purdy’s to embrace Canada Post’s infrastructure and logistics capabilities. “In early 2000, we realized they were leaders in terms of their ability to deliver product to a wide variety of customers on time and in fantastic condition,” Higgins says. “That’s important in our business because shelf life is a key concern.”
In the beginning, fulfilment for ecommerce orders was managed out of a single store in the Purdy’s chain. Seven years ago it transitioned to a dedicated ecommerce shop at its warehouse location, where items are hand packed and wrapped for daily pickup — or twice- daily pickup during peak times — by Canada Post.
As ecommerce growth accelerated over the past three to four years, Purdy’s eventually began working with Canada Post to integrate additional features into its ecommerce site. This includes the Canada Post postal rate and delivery date data as well as tracking features, so customers can receive notifications and check on their shipment status.
“Seven years ago, customers wouldn’t use those types of features. Now everyone is comfortable doing their own tracking,” Higgins says. “Canada Post has been exceptional with respect to co- ordinating and updating. We’ve been engaged with them every step along the way.”
While Purdy’s offers a variety of delivery options from basic to priority, summer shipments are strictly overnight. “Otherwise items won’t arrive in top condition,” Higgins explains. A big boost to the site has been a flat- rate $ 10 shipping charge anywhere in Canada. “That’s been very well received by customers.”
Purdy’s continues to work on new developments to match the pace of change in its ecommerce endeavours. “Online sales have become the highest- growing area for our business percentage- wise. So we stay in very close contact with Canada Post in terms of the next [ ecommerce] offerings. They’re very progressive and have a good hold on the marketplace. I don’t see that changing.”
The next project, he says, is
ONLINE SALES HAVE BECOME THE HIGHEST- GROWING AREA FOR OUR BUSINESS
to ship orders from individual stores. “We’re not there today, but when it happens, we will be relying on Canada Post to take care of the shipping.”
As one of the first Canadian retailers to launch an ecommerce site in 1995, Best Buy Canada has also gone through considerable changes, says Thierry HaySabourin, vice- president of ecommerce in Vancouver. As more products came online and its retail channels merged, it began to work more closely with Canada Post to develop a total retail strategy. “Because they are our last- mile service provider for our ecommerce, they play a big part in customer satisfaction,” Hay- Sabourin says.
A major step was taken two years ago when Best Buy decided to offer overnight shipping. “Two years ago, an order could take five to seven days to reach a c ustomer. Working with Canada Post, we can now deliver something ordered before 6 p. m. the next day free of charge. That’s a pretty significant transformation of the customer delivery experience.”
Best Buy has not only accelerated delivery times, it has also accelerated sales growth through all of its retail channels, he adds. “People talk about multi- and omnichannel, but in real terms, channels don’t exist in consumers’ minds. All they want when interacting with us is to get the product they expect at the right price and have it be available to them.”
One of its latest integration projects with Canada Post has been “unlocking” inventory. “That was the last piece in making sure customers could get their hands on products in the way that was most convenient for them,” HaySabourin says. “Now they can reserve an item and pick it up in the store 20 minutes later. Canada Post was a key partner in enabling that [ visibility].”
Integration is something that is always top of mind for the ecommerce team, HaySabourin adds. “We’re just about to deploy new capabilities that will tell customers exactly when they can expect delivery of products before they engage in the checkout process. We can determine where their computer is location and use Canada Post data to pinpoint the delivery time. That was only made possible using their technology and logistics.”
He says in working with Canada Post, he has been impressed by their willingness to transform and embrace the pace of change with ecommerce. “They are also cost- competitive enough for us to be able to offer free shipping to our customers.”
Last year the company shipped 2.5 million packages and is experiencing high double- digit growth this year, he notes. “Our relationship with Canada Post is extremely significant in helping meet the delivery expectations of our customers. Even during online events and peaks in volumes, we know we can count on them to maintain the same service levels as they do all year.”