When Joybird Flys: Delivery Planning and Save the Date | Spencer Musick

After purchasing a Joybird Lewis sectional sofa and ottoman during its May 22 Memorial Day sale, I documented their journey to my door to provide insight into how the online retailer gets its products into customers’ hands.

So far, my works have been coming together extremely efficiently.

On Monday afternoon, I received a text from Joybird with a link to schedule a delivery date. I selected Tuesday, July 16, and immediately received an email confirming the delivery date and explaining that the delivery partner (Joybird’s parent company, La-Z-Boy) would be in touch with me shortly to schedule a three-hour delivery window.

So far, I’ve discovered a few lessons from the delivery planning process. How much communication to give a customer who’s expecting a delivery is a balancing act to be struck, and Joybird seems to have found the right mix of keeping the buyer (me) informed while not going overboard.

There’s also a marketing connection to this consideration. The company doesn’t want its important order updates to get lost in the noise of routine marketing messages in my inbox. In this case, Joybird uses a separate email address for order scheduling, in addition to clearly noting in the email subject line that this is an order update. This may seem “obvious,” but kudos to Joybird for getting it right.

When it comes to an expensive product like a sofa, the expectations of individual buyers can vary significantly, so a key piece of the puzzle that affects customer satisfaction for a furniture retailer is to realistically shape those expectations through fair lead times, clear communication about order progress, and flexible delivery options.

More details coming soon, let’s see if Joybird manages to land!

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