Credit: Thanks to ParcelLab for the detailed study (available for download here)
Key Snippets from the eCommerce Shipping/ Carriers study:
Customers expect a tailored, convenient and quick shipping service; sadly this isn’t the case for many
94 of the 100 leading retailers studied do not give customers the opportunity to choose between different delivery partners, and instead expect customers to accept what they are given.
Same day delivery is limited to 7/100 and even then there are geographically restrictions e.g. Zara only offers this service in London and Missguided in Manchester.
42 offer weekend delivery and only 25 retailers allow the customer to pick a particular timeslot for delivery at checkout.
12/100 shops studied offer free shipping and another 65/100 offer free shipping with a minimum order value. Otherwise, the average amount is £3.99.
6/100 allow customers to choose the logistics provider and four of these ask the customer to pay for this additional service.
89/100 retailers send a shipping confirmation, after which 75 shops end customer communication, with 62 leaving it to the delivery carrier.
For 70 shops, the parcel tracking is hosted by the logistics provider and for 15 checking the parcel tracking link immediately led to an error message. 17 retailers do not send any tracking information.
49 shops enclose a returns label, while 22 do not provide a label for returns. The most popular returns option was return to store, with 79 retailers offering this. 63 retailers allowed customers to return goods free of charge.
73 retailers refund the money within 3 days. For retailers that told customers when they would get their money back, 53 refunded the money earlier than expected. 35 shops gave no prediction to the customer.
