In my new role at Business Sweden, 我可以做一些我喜欢的事情——支持电子商务公司的全球扩张. Through all the ups and downs, challenges, and celebrations, 我知道经营一家电子商务公司就像坐过山车一样. So being able to support companies on that journey feels almost like a duty rather than a job. It is something I have to do and feel passionate about. And if me sharing my experiences, good and bad, can support any company in succeeding, that is fantastic!
我第一次在国外工作一个月后，已经有48次送货上门了, I feel confident enough to write a few lines about my experience with e-commerce in the US.
More than 10 items never delivered all at once
We live on a dead-end street so there is no point in walking down our street unless you are visiting one of the houses, 在康涅狄格一个安静的居民区，只有大约30只. Our realtor assured this was a calm and safe street for dogs and children where they could run around safely and play. However, with the benefit of hindsight, I do not think she had a good view of the logistics patterns when she made those promises. Without exception, there is a delivery truck on our street every time I look out the window. It is primarily the usual suspects in FedEx, UPS, or DHL, 偶尔还有我以前不熟悉的当地公司. 每周有几次，我看到当地邮局的一辆小白车经过, 但它只在典型的美国邮箱前停留了一秒钟，然后继续前进. The larger packages come with the other carriers.
The first thing that struck me was that an order of 10 products is never delivered all at once! Items are delivered to the entrance now and then throughout the day in multiple different deliveries and often with a lot of air inside each package. 直接发货或非统一仓储似乎是标准做法.
Convenience is everything
在为厨房订购物品时，花一点时间考虑一下你需要什么. Quite many different things like frying pans, a toaster, knives, pots, cutting boards, silverware, lunch boxes, and a thousand other things. 是的，我知道有入门包，但不是所有的东西都在一个入门包里.
有些东西是一起发的，有些东西是一个一个发的. However, 当你在门廊上有一个装在鞋子大小盒子里的土豆削皮器时, 你真的会开始怀疑这种产品对环境的影响... 还有亚马逊和土豆削皮器品牌的盈利能力. Unfortunately, the big e-commerce platforms in the US seem to be far away from the sustainability thinking of their Nordic counterparts.. Convenience (at least pre-purchase) is everything.
The impact on physical stores
欧洲电源插座的适配器似乎是我们家里永远需要的. Razors, iPads, computers, mobile phones, electric toothbrushes, and pretty much everything else you use on an everyday or occasional basis now rely on them. It felt like such a stupid product to order online so buying it in the nearest town was the natural option, but the dialogue went something like this:
- Hi, do you have adapters for European devices in the US?
- Whaaat are you kidding? That you gotta get at Amazon… (*very annoyed look*)
Walking out I almost felt a little ashamed for asking such a dumb question in an electronic hardware store larger than most stores in Sweden. Stupid me. E-commerce has truly changed physical retail here.
Returns feel hostile but there are exceptions
However, when it comes to returns, it seems items must be handed in at a physical store of some sort. And order number is not enough to make a return. You need to do a pre-filled return form online and then show the barcode to the cashier at the return desk. And you definitely cannot return an opened box. Returns feel hostile.
But of course, there is always an exception, one supplier delivered broken glasses and plates. I took photos and documented this and contacted customer service. I was positively surprised when the answer was that she did not even need to see any pictures, I was instructed to give away broken items and that replacement products were already on their way to my home. The experience was great. Although I still wonder who would benefit from pieces of a plate.
Service is functional – not pleasant
Customer service via email is hopeless. Phone lines have long waiting times. Chat bots are everywhere and despite their limitations they are probably the best way to contact customer service. I do not like it. 我觉得和毛绒玩具泰迪熊谈论我的需求很可笑. 我只是不确定他的经验在我正在浏览的类别中是否足够. Nor do I like his snotty suggestion on what I should say. Chat bots are still some ways off from passing the Turing test and I want to chat to a real person. But to be honest, quite often the Teddy bear or one of his avatar colleagues manage to provide the information I need. Service is functional, not pleasant.
Some things in the customer experience are just not there. My sense is that many rely on too many third parties in their value chain to provide a good experience. And the Nordics have gotten further in digital solutions related to delivery and returns, 而平均而言，在更大程度上优先考虑客户服务.
Despite all: e-commerce rules in the US
然而，美国在送货上门速度快、送货准确性高方面胜过北欧国家. Only one of our deliveries has been lost, strangely enough, three 96-gallon bins disappeared. Apart from that everything has arrived within a couple of days and most of the time already the next day. The ever-present nature of the delivery trucks makes me think of when you land with an airplane on a clear day near a big city and see all the cars like small ants, it almost does not seem real. Like I am part of the film The Truman Show.
When the large electronic store in town refers to an e-commerce competitor as the only place to buy what I am looking for - and when you find out that your favourite local grocery store, Whole Foods, with a large organic and vegetarian selection, is owned by Amazon, 你会意识到这个世界和我习惯的世界相比有点颠倒了.
Despite a couple of bad experiences and right or wrong, so far, e-commerce rules in the US. It is hardly worth going to a store, and even when you do, the store staff refers you to go back home and open your laptop. Wide assortment and strong logistics somehow beat a relatively poor post-purchase experience.
