Consumers are facing increasing delays in online delivery times, with 41 per cent claiming their most recent order was delayed, according to a new study.
The survey of more than 1,000 online consumers in the UK found 71 per cent have had a negative delivery experience within the past three months, ranging from delays (41 per cent), deliveries at different time slots (21 per cent), parcels left in unsecured locations (19 per cent) or not turning up at all (10 per cent).
The findings from eCommerce delivery platform Sendcloud come as Royal Mail workers are expected to strike on 8-9 September, but recent initiatives such as the government’s ‘Generation Logistics’ suggest staff shortages are an ongoing issue.
One in five online shoppers (19 per cent) were forced to wait between two and five days on top of the estimated delivery time, the study found, while 22 per cent never received a notification of impending delays.
Other issues found in the report include consumers receiving invalid tracking numbers (11 per cent), incorrect tracking information (10 per cent), and not being able to change the time of delivery (10 per cent).
Rising costs due to inflation will also affect 47 per cent of respondents’ shopping plans this year, while increased labour costs (46 per cent), product shortages (45 per cent), and supply chain delays (40 per cent) are also top concerns.
Tolou advised online retailers to adopt a multi-carrier strategy to overcome delivery delays and unexpected events.
“Delivery expectations, inflation and staff shortages are pushing shipping providers to the edge. Bottlenecks are being created further down the line, and delivery experiences continue to decline as consumer wait times increase,” said Tolou.
“Working with multiple carriers means retailers can switch between shipping networks if supply chains become congested and better balance demand between logistics suppliers. By offering multiple shipping options, consumers can decide where, when and how they want to receive their order and therefore a more positive experience. A pro-tip is to offer shipping to service points, as the delivery guarantee here is 100 per cent, which reduces the pressure on delivery staff and shortens the delivery time,” Tolou concluded.
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