Online retail order growth was up 18.2% year-on-year in August, with more orders for “next day” deliveries than economy ones for the first time, according to new research.
Online retail order growth was up 18.2% year-on-year in August, with more orders for “next day” deliveries than economy ones for the first time, according to new research.
The latest data from the IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index, indicsates that as shopper confidence appears to be showing some resilience following the Brexit decision.
Since the EU referendum on 23 June, the report have tracked an increase in the percentage of orders going cross-border – most likely due to a sharp fall in the valuation of sterling.
This continued to be the case in August, with 27.8% of UK orders going to international destinations.
There was also a notable development in the delivery options that shoppers are selecting. For the first time in the history of the Index, the percentage of orders using ‘next day’ (36.7%) as the fulfilment option was higher than those using ‘economy’ (33.8%).
Andrew Starkey, head of e-logistics, IMRG: “We’ve been tracking a general increase in the percentage of ‘next day’ orders for a while now, and in August it became the most popular option domestically for the first time. There are a number of factors potentially influencing this – some retailers see delivery as a differentiator and are offering next day as standard, others offer it if the customer’s basket value is above a specific threshold and for others the charge for next day is smaller than it has been on average in previous years. A move toward faster delivery is not unexpected and, for carriers, it doesn’t represent a capacity issue during most of the year – but during peaks such as the Black Friday period, promotion of next day delivery should be handled more cautiously.”
Kees de Vos, chief product officer at MetaPack: “August is traditionally a slower month, so it is great to see delivery numbers swinging up again, and cumulative growth back on track. Despite our concerns about the effects of the European Referendum, overseas shoppers are taking advantage of the strength of Sterling which is boosting overseas deliveries with the added bonus that we are seeing a rise in order values from cross-border shopping. With requests for next day deliveries moving ahead of economy delivers we are also witnessing a strengthening in the trend towards speed over cost.”