Spring 2008

Online grocery retailer Ocado has started sending SMS text alerts of impending deliveries to its customers - a feature often suggested as one of the key means by which online retailers can avoid failed home deliveries.

Ocado co-founder Jason Gissing says over two thirds of its customers work, and roughly the same proportion have children, so receiving deliveries can often be a challenge for them. He adds that last year over a thousand customers forgot they had booked an Ocado delivery.

The text alerts include details of the driver's name, van type (cabbage, apple, courgette, onion, strawberry and lemon) and registration number, as well as details of any missing items. Texts are sent 'at a sociable hour' on the day of delivery.

The missing item information does not in itself offer the means for shoppers to remedy the deficit, but Gissing says the information 'will enable our customers to plan around this eventuality.' He adds that Ocado's rate of missing items is already the lowest in the industry. Just one in every 8,000 items is unavailable, he says.

 

We were not able to confirm which supplier is providing the SMS gateway and integration services, but industry sources indicate that it is third-party email specialist Win plc.