British shoppers spent £31.5bn online in the first half of 2011, though many complained about unpredictable delivery times
Britons' appetite for internet shopping shows no signs of waning and yet retailers are failing to meet expectations by keeping us waiting for delivery, new research has revealed.
The hours of hanging around soon add up. British shoppers waste an average of five days a year waiting at home for delivery of products bought via the internet, while nearly one in five will spend two weeks hoping for deliveries to arrive, according to the report.
The survey of more than 3,000 internet shoppers found that their number one gripe was not being given a defined delivery time slot (singled out by 90% of respondents) – which meant they had to take time off to ensure they are at home when their goods turn up.
Online grocery companies have the most sophisticated operations, now offering shoppers the chance to specify their preferred delivery slots as a matter of routine, making it possible for them to take delivery when they get home from work or even early in the morning. This has transformed online food and drink shopping – and is essential given storage issues around perishable and frozen food – although shoppers still get annoyed by the practice of substitution.
But for larger items such as electrical goods and furniture this practice is less common. Appliances Online offers shoppers delivery slots within a four- to five-hour timeframe, as does Marks & Spencer for furniture. M&S says its delivery team contacts customers three days before delivery to confirm their four-hour timeslot, also calling them early on the day to confirm an estimated time of arrival.
The new survey – conducted by The Co-operative Electrical – also found that 60% of online shoppers had to ask family or friends to wait in on their behalf, while half of those surveyed objected to paying extra for home delivery. The Co-op offers consumers a free, 90-minute delivery slot.
The survey also highlighted the main advantages of home delivery which were identified by consumers – fuel savings and not being able to take the products home (52% and 53% respectively), followed closely by price (48%).
Earlier this week new figures showed that British shoppers spent £31.5bn online in the first half of this year – a fifth more than in 2010. The new figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-retail sales index revealed that online sales growth not only beat the depressed high street, but exceeded earlier forecasts by 1%. The poor weather drove shoppers online as regular downpours increased the appeal of home shopping.
The sale of electrical goods is one of the fastest-growing sectors in online retailing, and has increased by 996% since February 2002, to be worth over £4bn per annum. Overall, more than £300bn has been spent online in the UK since 2000, while forecasts suggest that £69bn will be spent online in the UK in 2011 alone.
The latest figures from the employers' organisation the CBI show that 30.4m working days were lost last year to "sickies". Are many of these so-called illnesses actually home shoppers waiting for home deliveries?
It can also be annoying when the delivery company leaves a card and you have to rearrange delivery at another time or even to another place such as your office – something that can be fiddly and time-consuming.
Have you had recent experience of hanging around at home, waiting for Godot or for your new hi-fi? Let us know what your experience is, and whether you have found some enlightened retailers who don't keep you waiting.
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/blog/2011/jul/22/online-shopping-delivery-times
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