Nearly one in five (17%) of customers check the courier company used by a retailer before purchasing and 22% say there are some couriers they will actively avoid, according to a new report from eDelivery Expo which takes place next month.
The Importance of the Final Mile research showed that out of the top five dislikes of online shopping three were delivery rated. The most common dislike was not being able to experience the product followed by having to pay delivery fees for 56%, the hassle of returning items for 40% and having to be in for a delivery for 28%.
The study also showed that having the wrong package delivered was the top annoyance for three-quarters of those surveyed. Missed deliveries returned to a depot far from the recipient’s home annoyed 74%, followed by the pain of damaged parcels for 71% and parcels left in inappropriate places for 53%. Having to pay a premium for next day delivery annoyed just under half of respondents (49%).
The study showed poor delivery practices have made 18% of respondents stop shopping with certain retailers and almost a third (29%) will warn others to avoid retailers they have had delivery problems with.
Whilst automated delivery is supposed to make delivery more efficient the study showed that consumers aren’t so sure. Almost half (49%) think autonomous delivery would be less reliable than human delivery, whilst a third think it’ll be equally reliable. Just over a third (34%) say they would always trust a human over a machine to make a judgement call on what is best to do with their delivery, with a quarter being worried that their package would get lost or damaged. Despite these reservations, 37% accept that autonomous deliveries will be the norm within the next five years.
At eDelivery Expo, experts from delivery giants such as Deliveroo and Royal Mail will be discussing how new technologies and techniques will shape the final mile in 2018 and beyond.
For further information and to register free for eDelivery EXPO and InternetRetailing EXPO please visit http://edeliveryexpo.com/. Get involved on Twitter by following @edeliveryexpo and with the hashtags #EDX18 #IRX18
