Alternative delivery options increasingly popular in Europe

The good old delivery to a consumer’s home or workplace may still be the most important delivery option for most online shoppers in Europe, there are more and more alternative delivery options becoming popular as well. Click-and-collect services, delivery to a local shop or delivery to designated lockers are among the most demanded delivery methods.

New research from yStats shows that the majority of online consumers in Europe still want their goods delivered to their home or workplace. However, alternative options are on the rise. In the United Kingdom for example, two in three shoppers already made use of the option to order products online and then pick them up in a store or other collection point. Delivery to a local shop is also popular in France, while Germany has the highest share of online shoppers who want their goods delivered in a locker so they can pick them up whenever they want.

But that’s not the only trend taking place in the European ecommerce sector. Aside from the method used to deliver products, there’s also a change noticeable in the price consumers want to pay as well as how long they expect it to take to have their goods delivered. In some countries, such as the Netherlands, Spain and Germany, a great majority of online shoppers have indicated that free shipping is one of the most important factors in their purchase decision.

Half of online shoppers want goods delivered within 3-5 days
As said, the speed of delivery is also a big issue for many consumers. More than half of online shoppers in Europe expect their order to be delivered within 3 to 5 days. Whereas in Western Europe it’s normally not really a problem for online retailers to comply with this wish, in Eastern Europe it’s a tougher job. The logistics infrastructure isn’t as developed as it is in countries like the United Kingdom or the Netherlands. That may also be why especially in Eastern Europe, a significant share of online shoppers is willing to pay extra for faster delivery. In Russia, almost half of online shoppers said they are open to this.

Back in April, European ecommerce association Ecommerce Europe wrote a position paper which aims to improve the parcel delivery market in Europe.