UK consumers want free over fast delivery

The majority of online shoppers in the United Kingdom prefer fast to free delivery, while retailers think these delivery options are equally valued by consumers. Retailers think 43 percent of shoppers want free delivery and 57 percent prefer fast delivery, but in reality it’s 86 percent of UK shoppers who prefer free shipping.

This is shown by the annual State of Shipping in Ecommerce report from shipping platform Temando. which surveyed 275 retailers and almost 1,300 online shoppers in the United Kingdom. About six in ten of these shoppers said they would order more online if free shipping was offered.

Based on the survey, 27 percent of retailers in the UK offer standard shipping, while 32 percent only offer this when a minimum amount is spent. Another 11 percent only offer free shipping for new customers. But still, almost a quarter of online retailer say they don’t use free shipping as a promotional tool. That’s kind of weird, also because about six in ten of these shoppers said they would order more online if free shipping was offered. So it seems free shipping would be great as a promotional tool.

The report also shows that 54 percent of shoppers in the UK would abandon their online shopping cart and go to a competitor when the delivery service they want isn’t provided.

‘Retailers should offer dynamic choices’

“Rather than offering a single, generic shipping option, retailers need to map their delivery experiences to the lifestyle of today’s customers”, Carl Hartmann, co-founder and CEO of Temando, said. “Dynamic choices such as hyperlocal or same-day delivery for those with inner city postcodes, or specified time-slot delivery for busy families based in suburban neighbourhoods are options that retailers may want to consider.”