E-commerce basket abandonment due to excessive delivery costs

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - 09:09 by Graham Miller

A recent study, carried out by Econsultancy, has discovered that 74 per cent of UK consumers choose to duck out of a session of safe shopping online, because when they go to confirm their order they are confronted with expensive delivery fees.

This survey was commented on by delivery specialist, Richard Mercer, who said in a statement that any retailer should be concerned about the number of consumers willing to cease using their services at the last minute.

He pointed out that there are a number of major firms who get it right and give customers the option to enjoy free delivery when they get to the checkout. This camp includes Amazon and Play.com in the UK and is surely part of the reason that they have become so successful.

Mr Mercer also said that retailers need to take advantage of other modern tools when it comes to improving their delivery service. Parcel tracking is something that even the larger companies do not necessarily offer those participating in safe shopping online, but many insiders believe that this should become more widely available.

The main reason that consumers are willing to abandon online shopping baskets when they encounter expensive delivery fees, is that they know they can go elsewhere and get the same service free of charge.

This level of choice and freedom is great for the consumer, but means that retailers need to work hard if they want to avoid losing out to rivals.

Very few people walk around a supermarket or high street store, filling a basket or trolley with items, only to find that there are extra fees to pay on top of the shelf prices when they get to the checkout. This expectation of transparency must be translated online.