One package journey
One seller, one tracking path, and a clearer delivery expectation.
One-star reviews9.4%
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Olist Multi-Seller Order Analysis
On Olist, one checkout can include products from several independent sellers and arrive as separate packages. I analyzed 96,478 delivered orders to understand how that experience affected customer satisfaction and what the marketplace could do about it.
Overview
The Customer Problem
A shopper can place one order without realizing that several sellers will fulfill it. That can mean separate tracking numbers, packages arriving on different days, and no single place to understand what is happening.
What I Investigated
I connected order, seller, delivery, and review data to compare purchases handled by one seller with purchases split across several sellers. Then I checked whether delivery delays explained the rating difference or whether the experience itself was the problem.
One Checkout, Two Very Different Experiences
Customers were far more satisfied when one seller handled the entire order. Splitting the same checkout across sellers changed both the delivery experience and the review that followed.
Customer rating32% lowerwhen an order was split across sellers
One order, multiple deliveries
Separate packages, different arrival dates, and a harder order to follow.
One-star reviews35.6%
The difference remained even when both types of orders arrived on time. That pointed to a customer communication problem, not simply a late-delivery problem.
What the Data Revealed
The Rating Drop Was Too Large to Ignore
Single-seller orders averaged 4.18 stars, while orders involving several sellers averaged 2.86. The one-star review rate increased from 9.4% to 35.6%.
Late Delivery Was Not the Main Explanation
Even among orders that arrived on time, multi-seller purchases scored 3.42 compared with 4.26 for single-seller purchases.
Home-Goods Orders Were Most Exposed
Bed and bath, furniture and decor, and housewares produced the most split orders, making them practical starting points for a fix.
The Cost Would Grow With the Marketplace
The estimated annual exposure was R$38K at the observed rate and rose to R$115K if split-order volume tripled.
How I Reached the Answer
Start
96K orders
Delivered purchases only
Group
Count sellers
One versus several
Compare
Review scores
Find the satisfaction gap
Check
Rule out delays
On-time orders still differed
Act
Design the fix
Set clearer expectations
The Work Behind the Recommendation
1Making Sure the Difference Was Real
What I didBecause split orders were a small share of all purchases, I tested whether the rating gap could reasonably be explained by chance.
Why it matteredThe result was strong and consistent enough to treat as a marketplace problem rather than a random fluctuation.
2Finding the Root of the Bad Experience
What I didI compared only orders that arrived on time. Split orders still received much lower ratings, which meant late delivery alone could not explain the problem.
Why it matteredThat shifted the solution from speeding up delivery to improving expectations, tracking, and communication.
3Turning the Finding Into a Practical Plan
What I didI estimated how the cost would grow with order volume and compared that exposure with several possible product fixes.
Why it matteredThe simplest first step cost almost nothing: tell customers at checkout that their items will arrive in separate packages.
Recommended Next Steps
Fix the expectation gap first, then make split orders easier to follow and measure.
Do Now
Show “Separate Packages” at Checkout
Build Next
One Tracking View for the Full Order
Monitor
Split-Order Rate and Review Scores