More people chose to go for ‘next day’ delivery than chose ‘economy’ delivery for the first time over the month of August 2016 according to the online retailers association IMRG Metapack UK Delivery Index.

Though the figures were tight – the next day option was chosen by 36.7% against 33.8% this shows a clear trend towards next day and same day delivery being the preferred option for UK online customers.

Andrew Starkey, head of e-logistics, IMRG, commented on the figures: “We’ve been tracking a general increase in the percentage of ‘next day’ orders for a while now, and in August it became the most popular option domestically for the first time.

“There are a number of factors potentially influencing this – some retailers see delivery as a differentiator and are offering next day as standard, others offer it if the customer’s basket value is above a specific threshold and for others the charge for next day is smaller than it has been on average in previous years.

“A move toward faster delivery is not unexpected and, for carriers, it doesn’t represent a capacity issue during most of the year – but during peaks such as the Black Friday period, promotion of next day delivery should be handled more cautiously.”

For online retailers next day options could be particularly difficult in the Black Friday / Cyber Monday rush given the sheer volume of parcels going through the system. However, throughout the rest of the year this should be considered a competitive advantage. Amazon and now Sainsburys / Argos offering same day delivery should be a wakeup call for those seeking to compete with the big guys on delivery.
 
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