Shipping influences majority of online purchases

Monday, November 20, 2017 - 09:41 by Graham Miller

Most people who carry out safe shopping online are swayed by the options that retailers offer them when it comes to getting their products delivered, according to the latest survey from MetaPack.

Fifty four per cent of respondents said that their e-commerce buying decisions were often determined on the flexibility of the shipping services, rather than other factors such as price.

A similar proportion said that they would stop shopping on a site before completing their order if they were not satisfied with the delivery options at their disposal.

The majority of consumers argued that more retailers need to offer same day and even one hour delivery services, specifically to customers who are based in established urban centres. This shows that expectations about how quickly goods should be delivered are increasing, influenced by the launching of services like Prime Now from Amazon.

The report also assessed the impact that Brexit is likely to have on consumer habits, with 58 per cent of Brits claiming that they did not think leaving the European Union would alter the types of items they purchase via safe shopping online.

Study spokesperson, Bruce Fair, said that with thousands of respondents from across Europe and North America questioned, the overriding sentiment was that the UK will continue to attract overseas shoppers even after Brexit has been completed, which is seen as a positive sign.

Problems may arise if prices rise significantly in the aftermath, with 77 per cent of overseas shoppers saying they would stick with domestic retailers if it became more expensive to buy from the UK. Two thirds said that they would be similarly dissuaded if they had to pay more for delivery, although if the pound weakens further then these issues may not emerge in the short term.