Preparing for Peak Season:
Scale Your eCommerce Customer Service Without Increasing Costs
Managing customer service costs has become increasingly challenging in today’s world, especially with rising labour expenses and the seasonal surges in demand. We explore how pro-active communication, strategic logistics solutions and technology-driven tools can help eCommerce businesses reduce the volume of customer service queries, streamline operations and meet customer expectations — without increasing costs.
Rising Costs and Peak Demands: A Perfect Storm for Customer Service Teams
The recent UK budget introduces several significant increases in employment-related costs that are affecting businesses, particularly across retail and customer service sectors. The National Living Wage will rise by 6.7% from April 2025. For an average full-time worker, this boost translates to approximately £1,400 per year. Also starting in April 2025, the standard employer National Insurance Contribution (NIC) rate will increase from 13.8% to 15.0%. The earnings threshold for NICs will also decrease from £9,100 to £5,000. Together, these changes mean a substantial cost increase, especially for businesses with a workforce on average or lower salaries.
With the financial strain on employers increasing, particularly in sectors with thin margins, many companies are seeking new ways to manage these rising costs without impacting customer satisfaction. For many companies, the increased costs make it difficult to justify expanding customer service teams, particularly if that expansion is in order to service seasonal peaks.
With the volume and emotional importance attached to orders heightened during festive periods, staff members must be equipped to handle a greater variety of queries to the standard expected by customers. Businesses that want to keep customer satisfaction high, without stretching resources, must find ways to reduce queries and efficiently manage them when they do.
Reducing Queries Through Pro-active Communication
To alleviate the pressure on customer service teams, eCommerce businesses can implement several pro-active strategies that help reduce the number of incoming queries:
1. Transparency in Communication
Setting clear, honest expectations around delivery times can significantly reduce enquiries. By providing accurate delivery estimates at checkout, and updating customers promptly in case of delays, you can minimise the need for customers to contact support for updates. Shoppers are more likely to feel reassured when they receive upfront, accurate information about when they can expect their items to arrive.
2. Offering Flexible Delivery Options
Giving customers more choice in how they receive their items, such as providing Click and Collect options, can help alleviate delivery concerns and reduce last-minute panic. By offering multiple delivery or pickup methods, you can help customers choose the option that best suits their needs, especially during the busy holiday season. This flexibility leads to a more positive shopping experience and fewer delivery-related enquiries.
3. Clear Communication on Order Tracking
Providing easy access to order tracking is another way to reduce customer enquiries. GFS’ carrier management platform enables comprehensive tracking from dispatch to delivery, making it easy for customers to check the status of their orders at any time. When customers are empowered to track their own packages, they’re less likely to reach out to customer service for updates.
4. Self-Service Solutions and FAQs
Many customer enquiries stem from questions that could be addressed through a well-organised FAQ page. By creating a robust FAQ section that covers common concerns—such as return policies, delivery options, and holiday-specific cut-off dates—you can provide customers with the answers they need without requiring direct interaction with your customer service team. Empowering customers to find answers themselves is a low-cost, effective way to manage enquiry volume.
How GFS Can Support Your Customer Service Goals
Managing customer service efficiently during Peak requires both pro-active communication and reliable logistics solutions. GFS provides a range of carrier management solutions designed to ease the pressure on customer service teams and improve the end-to-end delivery experience. With GFS, businesses can streamline their logistics operations, automate tracking and updates, and offer flexible delivery options — all without the need to expand their customer service workforce.
Check out this Case Study with Simply Colors – a personalised children’s clothing retailer who faced an increased demand on their customer services following growth in their order volumes. Through GFS’ carrier management services, Simply Colors was able to centralise their shipping processes and offer customers real-time tracking and flexible delivery options, resulting in a reduction of their incoming customer service enquiries without significantly increasing their staffing costs.
Ready to Scale Your Customer Service Without the Added Costs?
Scaling your customer service operations sustainably is essential. By implementing pro-active communication strategies and leveraging GFS’ carrier management solutions, businesses can handle seasonal spikes and customer expectations more effectively — without increasing their customer service costs. From centralised logistics management to enhanced delivery transparency, GFS equips businesses with the tools to deliver an outstanding customer experience at scale.
