Overselling and upsetting customers

Last week we had an appliance delivery scheduled from Home Depot. We got the reminder email and phone call to remind us to be around.

Then two days before the delivery we got an automated call saying the appliance was back-ordered for three months and our new delivery date would be in October.

Turned out the product was never actually in-stock even through their store said it was. Then when their supply chain had a major delay, they held off telling us until the last minute.

We cancelled the order and ordered from a local store instead who has a comparable one in their warehouse. It'll now be delivered in a week.

Shopify allows this sort of overbuying where customers can buy a product even when it's out of stock. It can help you get an order but if you can't fulfill it for any reason, you're going to have an upset customer and risk negative reviews.

A retail giant won't care but can you risk that for your store?

One of the best ways to build a sustainable business is to keep your customers happy and coming back. If you can't do that, you'll struggle to grow your store.

Repeat Customer Insights can help you understand your customer's behavior and see who are the best customers and what makes them better than the rest.

Eric Davis