The impact of order fulfillment on consumer experience: text mining consumer reviews from Amazon US

Purpose This research analyzes online consumer reviews and ratings to assess e-retail order fulfillment performance. The study aims to (1) identify consumer journey touchpoints in the order fulfillment process and (2) determine their relative importance for the consumer experience. Design/methodology/approach Text mining and analytics were employed to examine over 100 m online purchase orders, along with associated consumer reviews and ratings from Amazon US. Using natural language processing techniques, the corpus of reviews was structured to pinpoint touchpoints related to order fulfillment. Reviews were then classified according to their stance (either positive or negative) toward these touchpoints. Finally, the classes were correlated with consumer rating, measured by the number of stars, to determine the relative importance of each touchpoint. Findings The study reveals 12 touchpoints within the order fulfillment process, which are split into three groups: delivery, packaging and returns. These touchpoints significantly influence star ratings: positive experiences elevate them, while negative ones reduce them. The findings provide a quantifiable measure of these effects, articulated in terms of star ratings, which directly reflect the influence of experiences on consumer evaluations. Research limitations/implications The dataset utilized in this study is from the US market, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other markets. Moreover, the novel methodology used to map and quantify customer journey touchpoints requires further refinement. Practical implications In e-retail and logistics, comprehending touchpoints in the order fulfillment process is pivotal. This understanding helps improve consumer interactions and enhance satisfaction. Such insights not only drive higher conversion rates but also guide informed managerial decisions, particularly in service development. Originality/value Drawing upon consumer-generated data, this research identifies a cohesive set of touchpoints within the order fulfillment process and quantitatively evaluates their influence on consumer experience using star ratings as a metric.