Newsletter 35

How good are the delivery options you offer consumers on your web site? Royal Mail is hoping for the chance to inform retailers by applying a new product called its Delivery Promise Tool.

The web-based system takes the form of a simple, interactive questionnaire hosted by eDigital, which evaluates retailers’ input and produces a report and recommendations. According to Val Walker, Royal Mail’s head of multi-channel retail: “Often the people who build retail web sites are different from the people who deal with customer response, and don’t have the same priorities.” She says the aim is to help retailers get their delivery processes in line with consumer expectations.

Val Walker emphasises that the system is generally supplier-neutral, and “not in any way a hard sell”. Currently it is available through Royal Mail’s 250-strong sales force, but there are hints that might eventually be offered eventually as a self-service system.