Delivery options ‘crucial for online shoppers’

Half of all online shoppers will abandon their basket if delivery choices are unsatisfactory, while 60 per cent will buy their goods from another retailer if more convenient delivery options are offered.

This is according to a new survey from MetaPack, which found that 54 per cent of consumers choose who they shop with based on delivery options. Four in 10 said that they will never shop again with an online merchant following a negative delivery experience, rising to 48 per cent for 18-26 year olds.

The survey, which quizzed more than 3,500 US and European consumers, found that 57 per cent would like a try-before-you-buy service, with Millennials the most keen to try the new option.

Four in 10 respondents said that loyalty schemes from their e-tailors makes them feel special, while 31 per cent said that they would pay a monthly fee to get unlimited next day deliveries. Over half (55 per cent) would prioritise one e-tailer over another if it offered a delivery loyalty programme; this was particularly the case for US (75 per cent), Spanish (71 per cent) and Italian (59 per cent) shoppers.

When asked to evaluate their most important delivery considerations for online purchases, more than half (52 per cent) ranked fast delivery as their top or second most important priority – up from 30 per cent of last year’s respondents. Demand for one-hour delivery service in metropolitan areas was also on the up, with more than half (54 per cent) of all respondents saying they want the online commerce sites they shop with to offer this service.

Consumer hunger for a premium ‘same day’ service is growing. This year, demand for a premium ‘same day’ service almost doubled in all countries surveyed. It was particularly appealing to Italian (33 per cent), UK (28 per cent) and US (22 per cent) consumers, with 22 per cent of all respondents taking advantage of a same day delivery option in the last six months.

One in five survey respondents had made at least one overseas purchase in the last 12 months, with one-third saying they had purchased goods between two and five times. A determined 16 per cent had made up to 10 purchases, or more, cross-border purchases, with US shoppers showing the most appetite for international shopping.

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