City Logistics

ONLINE SHOPPERS DON’T ALL WANT THE SAME FROM THEIR DELIVERIES

It is important to consider what customers actually want when it comes to online deliveries. We might be tempted to think that consumers want everything delivered quickly but actually speed is only one consideration – cost is by far the primary driver of decision-making around delivery – which has become even more pronounced as shoppers are under cost pressure – followed by speed and then closely by convenience. Flexibility, delivery visibility and sustainability are all increasing in importance for online shoppers.

Similarly, not all consumers want their goods delivered to the same type of destination. Often it is assumed that home delivery is the overwhelming preference of shoppers. This is true in some cases but not all: recent research from DHL shows that shoppers in different countries prefer their deliveries to be made to different places .

British, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Austrian and French shoppers are more likely to want deliveries of individual parcels made to a unique destination such as their homes whereas Polish, Swedish and Czech shoppers are more likely to prefer to collect their orders from lockers or parcel shops.

IMPORTANCE WHEN SHOPPING FOR PRODUCTS ONLINE PROPORTION OF CONSUMERS AGREEING

DELIVERY PREFERENCES BY EUROPEAN COUNTRY

INDIVIDUAL DESTINATION DELIVERY HOME DELIVERY LEFT WITH A NEIGHBOUR OR SAFE PLACE

COMBINED DESTINATION DELIVERY

2023

2022

PARCEL SHOP / CONVENIENCE STORE PARCEL LOCKER

32%

100%

27%

27%

80%

23%

22%

60%

18%

40%

9%

9%

9%

10%

20%

7%

7%

COST OF DELIVERY

SPEED OF DELIVERY

CONVENIENCE OF DELIVERY (eg location, time slot)

FLEXIBLE RETURNS

DELIVERY VISIBILITY & TRACKING

GREEN DELIVERY

-

POLAND

SWEDEN

CZECH

REPUBLIC

FRANCE

EUROPEAN AVERAGE

AUSTRIA

ITALY

NETHERLANDS SPAIN

GERMANY

UNITED KINGDOM

SOURCE: DHL EUROPEAN ONLINE SHOPPER SURVEY 2023

SOURCE: AUCTANE, RETAIL ECONOMICS ECOMMERCE DELIVERY BENCHMARK REPORT 2023

This makes a big difference to the cost of delivery and the risk to customer experience that retailers face. Home delivery presents a significant cost and operating challenge to retailers and delivery partners due to the cost of transporting individual parcels to a huge number of final destinations as well as the risk of failed delivery, which also adds cost. It is also an area of significant customer service failure risk which can damage a retailer’s brand and threaten customer loyalty.

Conversely, delivering a larger number of parcels to a single destination – such as a bank of parcel lockers, a parcel shop or another click-and collect location – can be significantly more cost efficient: rather than delivering to a multitude of individual doorsteps, the same number of parcels can be delivered in one journey to a single location, reducing both the transport costs and labour costs (not having to take each one to the doorstep with ensuing administration such as signing and photographing) but also the risk of failed delivery.

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CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

INDUSTRIAL EVOLUTION | CITY LOGISTICS