Next-day deliveries continue to grow

Premium next-day delivery services are accounting for a greater share of online orders according to new research from IMRG and MetaPack, with more than a third of consumers selecting ‘next-day’ in 2016.

The research reveals that 31 percent of all online retail orders in 2016 selected ‘next-day’ as the delivery option, up from 26.8 percent in 2015. Over the same period, the share of orders using economy services fell from 45.5 percent in 2015 to 38.9 percent in 2016.

The latest data also tracked a notable shift in when the bulk of Christmas peak deliveries fall. In 2014, the monthly growth in order volumes between November and December was an increase of 27.7 percent; in 2015 it was up 14.3 percent, but in 2016 it was just a growth of 4.5 percent. This is due to Black Friday falling earlier in 2016, compared to 2015 and 2014, IMRG states.

Andrew Starkey, head of e-logistics at IMRG: “It’s not hard to see why delivery times are speeding up, as many retailers feature their next-day offer prominently at the top of their homepage in order to attract and keep customers. With delivery service so important to shoppers retailers must look at all aspects to keep ahead of their competition and customer’s expectations.”

Chris Hoskin, head of marketing at MetaPack added: “Next day delivery has become the new norm for customers in the UK – who increasingly regard it as a standard rather than premium service. This is commercially challenging for many retailers who have invested heavily in securing and maintaining their online customer base. They now, more than ever before, have to balance the costs and operational implications of managing a reliable next day service with meeting customer demands.”