Topic of the week – What is Secure Delivery & What Delivery Preferences Do Consumers Have?
Many final mile carriers and delivery services offer secure delivery now, as added piece of mind for both the end customer and the retailer. But what exactly is it? And do consumers want secure delivery or would they prefer alternative delivery methods? Lets find out…
Secure delivery is often associated with shipping high value goods. Whilst this is the case and is definitely useful when shipping items such as jewelry, antiques, art etc., this is not always the case. When shipping these types of goods the benefits of a secure delivery method include, enhance speed, advanced tracking technology, and higher levels of security such as tamper-proof packaging or enhanced warehousing. This is all well and good for shipping these types of items, but what about retailers shipping more common items, like clothing, shoes, bags and accessories or even small consumer electronics? What does secure delivery look like for them. In this case, secure delivery is often offered by final mile carriers, and include protocols such as authentication features, such as PIN code confirmation upon delivery, or a QR code to be scanned by the carrier. Photo evidence of delivery and even delivery to PUDO (Pick Up Drop Off) points are also examples of a secured delivery method. All of these features have direct contact with the end consumer, and provide some peace of mind that their goods are being looked after. You may have already experienced one of these delivery methods before. Secure delivery is becoming more commonplace within the industry which is by no means a bad thing, as it reduces the number of undeliverable items or fraudulent claims for the retailer and means that the customer is confident that their parcel will be delivered safely.
Overall, consumers worldwide prefer cheaper delivery than anything else. Whilst express delivery is the second most popular factor with convenience behind it. When dealing with faster delivery, consumers expect an express delivery service for grocery and perishable goods such as pharmaceuticals, within a 24 hour timeframe. Interestingly, younger demographics are more willing to wait up to 7 days to receive their parcel for free whilst older generations prefer a faster international delivery service. Only 46% of worldwide online shoppers are prepared to pay for same-day delivery whilst only 28% will pay for next-day delivery services, highlighting that once again, cost trumps speed. In fact, 51% of consumers said that they will never pay more for premium or faster delivery. Across the board, shoppers in various countries all said that high shipping costs would make them less likely to buy from a retailer again.
In other news
A study indicates that consumers are now more cautious with their purchases, making flexible and customer-friendly return options more essential than ever. The research found that 72% of respondents are more inclined to return products due to financial pressures, highlighting a shift towards more discerning purchasing behaviour.
eCommerce Market Stats
See some statistics relating to this week’s topics in the eCommerce market below.
Delivery Preference Stats
Most important delivery features for online shopping in 2024
Cost of Delivery – 35%
Speed of delivery – 23%
Convenience of delivery – 16%
Share of online shoppers willing to wait up to 7 days to receive free international shipping in 2023
Millennials – 53%
Gen Z – 51%
Gen X – 49%
Baby Boomers + - 44%
Share of consumers anticipating free delivery to become more important in their online shopping worldwide
Strongly agree- 44%
Agree – 24%
Somewhat agree – 16%
Main aspects that shoppers would change about the delivery of products purchased online worldwide
Faster delivery – 48%
Cheaper delivery – 43%
More clarity on exact delivery times – 39%
*Statistics sourced from Statista
That’s all for this week…
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