Online shopping growth will rely on innovative delivery options

Monday, January 5, 2015 - 09:48 by Sarah Collinson

There are a number of factors that are helping to keep the growth of safe shopping online at impressive levels, but Retail Gazette reports that while user experience is important in the world of e-commerce, it could be innovations in the way that items are delivered which have the biggest impact in 2015.

This is according to courier firm, Fastlane International, which argues that even with the growth of m-commerce and the use of integrated, cross-platform solutions for online shopping, it is ultimately the quality of the delivery that will determine whether or not customers are going to keep coming back to their e-commerce site of choice.

Industry expert, David Jinks, said that this was symptomatic of the way that the retail industry has become consumer-led. Shopping online is empowering people to decide where and when they want to shop, as well as how they want to receive the products they order.

Over the course of 2015, Mr Jinks predicts that a larger proportion of retailers will give online customers the option of receiving their deliveries on a Sunday, in addition to a rise in the number of same day delivery slots that are available.

Signing for a delivery will also become more secure, as the use of new technology will mean it will be easier to assess exactly who it was that took receipt of a package. This is good for consumers and couriers alike, since there can be a lot of consternation over this issue, due to a lack of clarity.

While the widespread use of drones for delivery of online orders is still many years from being a reality, more companies will be using fuel-efficient vehicles to transport items in 2015, which means people can shop online with a clear conscience.