Following a recent decision by

One of the reasons that Zalando grew big in the past couple of years was their flexible return policy (free up to 100 days). Another was no charge of shipping costs. However, German retailers seem to have moved back from those standards. Spaniards, Irish and British customers will now have to spend more than €25 in order to avoid spending approximately €3/€3.50 on delivery costs. In Italy, the company has already started to charge for delivery.

Zalando changes the rules, again

According to the fashion platform, there are no plans to charge shipping costs in other countries yet. Els Breugelmans, an expert in e-commerce, believes that there is a turning point in terms of free shipping. She also finds it typical that Zalando, the company that has changed the rules of the game in the sector, is changing the rules again.

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Findings show that delivery is often the deciding factor between two brands. Each purchase decision is made based on multiple considerations on the part of its target customers. Delivery is one very important aspect of this. Providing easy and effortless delivery and return processes is highly linked to brand loyalty.

On average the 150 biggest online retailers offer on average 2.7 delivery options and 1.9 return options. Standard average delivery costs are 3.59 Pounds. There is a significant increase in In-shop returns which is likely to increase due to technological developments. The cost of returns is likely to hit bottom line profits, due to standards set by giants like Amazon. However, leaving customers out of pocket will never drive loyalty. The different on- and offline channels to return via leaves retailers with the need to develop omnichannel customer experiences.

Want to read the full report? You can download it here.

The post European eDelivery Index 2017: State of European Delivery & Returns Market appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

This can be concluded from a survey conducted by Whistl, which interviewed over 1000 consumers on this topic. One in four Brits expects free delivery on every online purchase, while the majority expects free delivery after they have spent a minimum amount of 10 pounds. Almost all Brits were more likely to purchase something online when there is free delivery (94%). Especially consumers in the age of 18-24 were likely to do so.

Consumers in the United Kingdom are willing to pay between 2 and 4 pounds for a delivery. However, when they think the delivery fee is too high, almost two-thirds of the shoppers will bail out of the order process. Respondents indicate that the amount they will pay online is not affected by the offer of free delivery. A third, however, says they overbuy to avoid delivery and return costs.

Another interesting finding is that consumer does not mind to wait a bit longer if an order can be shipped with free delivery. Almost half of the shoppers are willing to wait for two or three more days. The online consumers in the UK even said to buy online in a foreign county and wait (a lot) longer if this means they can receive their goods without delivery fees.

The post Shoppers in the UK expect free delivery for orders over £10 appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.