One in six do virtually all their shopping online

According to new research by the Royal Mail, nearly one in six people do virtually all of their shopping online, and those shoppers are looking for “convenience and certainty” in the way returns are handled.

The report, Delivery Matters Returns Special, focuses on the customer returns experience, and found that 30 percent of online shoppers surveyed returned women’s clothing, citing fit and size as the main reason to return, as well as faults and damage.

Additionally, the research revealed that 73 percent of those surveyed always expect free returns, and 60 percent of online shoppers are unlikely to purchase from an etailer or marketplace seller again if they’ve been charged for a return.

The report commissioned by the Royal Mail also found that 72 percent of those polled favoured the Post Office over other locations as a returns drop off point, while 77 percent said they would be more “likely to shop again” with a specific retailer if they offered returns with Royal Mail.

Nick Landon, managing director at Royal Mail Parcels, said: “The internet is one big shop front, letting people anywhere in the country get their hands on anything they want.

“Convenient returns play a big part in making e-commerce attractive, and as online shoppers become more and more comfortable with online purchasing they are starting to dictate how they want the process to work, from free returns to end to end tracking.”