According to the latest ‘UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper’ Global Study, consumers in Europe expect a compelling online and in-store shopping experience, as well as the flexibility to choose when and how they receive their purchases.
Globally, the study of what drives consumers complete purchase pathway online found that online shoppers increasingly want alternative delivery locations other than their home and more payment options. It also found that mobile is a catalyst for omnichannel shopping and recommended that retailers should be addressing any limitations in their service offer. Free shipping is still important globally to consumers, as is a greater emphasis on returns.
Looking specifically at the European market, in which comScore surveyed more than 6,200 online shoppers on behalf of UPS across six European, 32% of consumers would prefer their online order be delivered to locations other than their home – an increase from the previous edition of the survey.
Commenting on the survey report, Scott Aubuchon, vice president of marketing, UPS Europe said:
“As technology develops and consumer expectations change, these ‘flex shoppers’ want convenience and comprehensive information when making purchases online.”
An animated map shows how each market differs in its online shopping preferences.
The importance of delivery
In Europe, only 53% of online shoppers said that they were satisfied with the ease of making online returns or exchanges. The time that consumers can expect their purchases is also an important factor, with 58% of consumers saying they had abandoned a shopping cart sue to the length of delivery times, or a delivery date was not provided.
In terms of preference, it is interesting to note that 52% of respondents said that they preferred to see the expected arrival date rather than the number of days it will take for the product to arrive. Free shipping continues to drive purchasing decisions for European respondents as 67% said they would wait an additional 1-3 days for free domestic shipping.
These preferences and expectations seem to be being met in the UK. StellaService conducted some investigations into the performance of ten of the largest UK retailers across delivery, speed and ease of returns for standard deliveries. They found that the average total days to delivery was 3.5 days with the fastest performers delivering in 2.2 days. On average, the total days to refund was 7.8 days.
However, StellaService reported that the slowest performers only managed to deliver in 5.7 days and only one of the top ten offered free shipping across all packages.
Kevon Hills, StellaService vice president of research commented:
“Some of the same trends we’ve been following in the U.S., such as a need to compete with the fulfillment capabilities of Amazon.com, are very real in the UK. Retailers are pressured to match the fastest delivery speeds and what’s more, they’re competing on experience.”
Graham Charlton, Editor in Chief at Econsultancy offers some practical guidance for retailers on what a good delivery experience looks like in a recent blog post:
- Clear, accurate tracking online. This can save a lot of wasted time, and reduce pressure on call centres.
- Informative, proactive communication (text, phone or email updates). SMS notifications can be great for this.
- Good levels of communication when problems (inevitably) occur. Even the best online retailers will experience delivery issues now and then. The key here is to communicate with customers – don’t make them work too hard to find out about their delivery.
- Non-premium rate phone numbers to call at the courier. Premium rate phone numbers for customer service are a big mistake. Don’t make customers pay when you have cocked up.
- Greater levels of support from the retailer. As a retailer, it’s not enough to just palm delivery problems off onto the courier and have customers chasing their order up. Customers will hold the retailer, not the courier, responsible so be proactive in following up problems.