The 2016 State of eCommerce Delivery Consumer Research Report by Metapack “shines a light on the short-fall between consumers’ expectations and reality”, according to the company.

The research suggests that consumers’ online purchasing decisions are directly linked between delivery and returns. Metapack said they “will vote with their feet and their wallets, abandoning shopping baskets if the delivery experience doesn’t meet their expectations, needs or is too expensive”.

The US and six of the largest European e-commerce markets (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands) were surveyed, looking at consumers who had made purchases within the last six months.

43% of consumers said that following a negative delivery experience they wouldn’t return to that retailer within a month – 38% wouldn’t go back to that retailer again. Poor or unavailable delivery options drove 45% to abandon their trolleys.

“This year’s research results underline the increasingly vital role of delivery as part of an e-commerce strategy,” said Kees de Vos, Chief Product and Marketing Officer, MetaPack. “With consumers’ appetite for perfection continuing to rise, they now view delivery as a core component of an online merchant’s shopping proposition – for them, delivery is a lasting ‘moment of truth’ that ultimately characterises their end-to-end online shopping experience and underpins their purchasing decisions and loyalty.”

While 88% had used a returns facility only 28% of those were completely satisfied with the return services they had ended up using.

One hour delivery is a big thing now, with 47% of metropolitan customers showing an interest in this should it be available. Equally a premium, ‘same day’ service is growing in terms of demand. 33% of Italian, 28% of UK and 22% of US customers found this appealing.

 
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