How customers value delivery

Shoppers say the cost and speed of delivery are the two of the most important factors that they take into account when buying online. However, a significant minority would consider slower delivery and paying more in order to make their delivery more sustainable, according to InternetRetailing.

The Ecommerce Delivery Benchmark Report 2021 questioned 10,000 shoppers in five key markets. This includes the UK at the end of 2020. 78% says they had shopped more online since COVID-19 outbreak. This includes 48% who had shopped a little more, and 30% who had shopped much more. In addition, 87% of those respondents said they would continue to do more of their shopping online. Furthermore, almost two-thirds (64%) said they would continue to make the same number of visits to physical stores in 2021. However, almost a third (31%) said they would make fewer visits. Moreover, only 6% said they would visit more often.

Delivery preferences

82% said that home delivery was their favored fulfillment channel for an online delivery. Followed by collection from a store (9%), a collection point (8%) and a locker (2%). When asked what factors they most valued in their deliveries, cost (35%) and speed (33%) were the two single most important. However, 32% said that they value sustainability more than cost and speed. Almost half (47%) said they would consider a longer delivery time for more sustainable delivery. In addition, a similar proportion (48%) that they would opt for a single day for deliveries, while 23% would pay more.

Signing up for retail subscriptions

Nearly one in five (17%) say they have signed up for a monthly subscription service for products, according to a new study. Food subscription services (29%) are the most popular. Followed by beauty and grooming (20%), alcohol (10%) and health and fitness products (9%). Subscriptions to digital services such as Netflix and Spotify are also popular, with 34% of those aged 16-24 signing up to one.

Part of the reason both physical and digital subscriptions have done well is because most of them are delivered through a mobile app. In addition, consumers have become even more attached to their mobile devices during lockdown.

The challenge for brands that offer these services now though is to retain these new customers once lockdown restricts lift. The key to doing that is to remain relevant to those customers, which means personalization. Traditionally, offering a personalized experience on mobile was challenging. However, now technology exists that can help brands offer a one-to-one tailored experience for each customer based on their preferences.