More delivery choice reduces cart abandonment

Consumers should have more delivery choice when they are about to pay for products of services they found online. This could reduce the proportion of purchases abandoned before they are completed. Parcel and carrier management company GFS reported a 10% rise in completed orders since it introduced GFS Checkout, which offers shoppers a choice of delivery or collection services.

According to GFS, clients who use a system which allows shoppers to have a greater say in how and when they want to receive goods, have seen a considerable increase in orders. Small as well as major retail brands saw a 10 percent rise in completed orders in the twelve months since GFS introduced GFS Checkout.

A recent study conducted by delivery company Hermes show similar results, as it suggest delivery issues are among the principal reasons in 10 percent of all online shopping carts being abandoned before the purchase was completed. Consumers are said to be deterred from buying because of the length of time it takes to complete the order and the cost of getting their goods. One in eight UK shoppers surveyed said they abandoned items on a quarter of all the online shopping they did in the last twelve months.

‘Make checkout process clear and straightforward’
Simon Veale, director of GFS, thinks that these studies and data show how important it is for retailers to make their checkout process both clear and straightforward. “When you consider that there will be more than £52 billion (€72 billion) worth of online retail sales made in the United Kingdom during the course of this year, the implications of what we and Hermes have found are considerable for retailers, the delivery industry and consumers alike.”

“Consumers are more sophisticated than ever before when it comes to buying online and aren’t prepared to accept the kind of limited and sometimes expensive delivery options which they might previously have done”, he says. “And these are all things which are relatively easy to correct and yet have such potentially costly consequences if left unattended.”

Differences between the UK and Germany
The Hermes survey showed how Britons were twice as likely as Germans to abandon their online shopping carts. According to Mark Pettit, who works as a marketing and sales director at the delivery company, the survey did not only provide a clear picture of UK consumer attitudes on ecommerce, but it also provided a useful comparison with Germany, another major ecommerce market in Europe. “Whilst there are distinct similarities in how people shop regardless of where they live, there are interesting, subtle differences which reinforce why retailers cannot afford to adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach to delivery”, he says. “Having a broad mix of options, all set out clearly for the benefit of shoppers in any given territory, can be critical in persuading people to buy goods.”