Member Article

Cost of online delivery proves biggest bugbear for online shoppers

Cost of delivery proved the biggest fulfilment bugbear for online shoppers, the latest report from RetailEXPO reveals.

Original research of 2,000 UK consumers in the ‘ONE VISION: how to re-energise retail in 2019 and beyond’ report from RetailEXPO revealed that 93% of UK customers resent paying for delivery or feel the cost of delivery is too expensive, while 59% of consumers thought retailers should give them money off or the item for free if a delivery arrived late.

Other key pain-points in the fulfilment process included a lack of choice in the delivery options available, which annoyed a third (31%) of UK shoppers, while 29% felt retailers deliberately inflated the prices of the most convenient delivery time slots.

When it came to improving online delivery experiences, almost three quarters (74%) of shoppers wanted real-time trackability on their online deliveries, allowing them to be in to receive the order or to spend less time waiting at home to receive their parcels.

More sustainable delivery options were also a key improvement for UK consumers. Mirroring the move away from single use plastics and excess packaging in UK retail, 40% wanted retailers to reduce the amount of packaging in deliveries, rising to 45% amongst 18–24 year olds. Delivery to device was also a key capability for two fifths of 18–24 year olds, with 19% wanting retailers to be able to deliver to a mobile device as opposed to an address.

Matt Bradley, Event Director at RetailEXPO, commented: “When it comes to customer experience, much time and investment is spent by retailers in delivering this in-store or online, but post-purchase customer experience often gets overlooked. It’s critical that retail businesses look beyond the point of transaction and build customer experience into fulfilment. Only then can they deliver value at each and every stage of the buying journey to drive repeat customer and grow customer lifetime value.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chelsea Reay .