No ecommerce without logistics. Because whenever a consumer orders something online, that product has to be shipped from one place (a warehouse or fulfilment centre) to another (the consumer’s house, a pick-up point, et cetera). So logistics play a very important role in the whole ecommerce process. In order to achieve success in the online retail industry, one has to have a very solid logistics plan in place.
New research has revealed that on average, only half of retailers in Europe offer an express delivery option, while just 6 percent offer same day delivery. It’s the United Kingdom that leads the way in terms of delivery options available to customers. With an average of 4.4 options it’s way ahead of the European average of 2.7 options. Continue reading
The demand for urban logistics space throughout Europe is growing, as there is an increasing number of ecommerce orders. It’s forecasted the parcel volume in Europe will be increased with 69 percent by 2021. And online retailers want to please customers with last mile deliveries, so more warehouses in and around cities are needed. Continue reading
Online consumers from the United Kingdom aren’t unenthusiastic about paying for delivery, if the fee isn’t too high. Two thirds of UK shoppers normally don’t expect free delivery when placing orders online, but when orders go over 10 pounds they begin to expect free delivery options. Continue reading
European online retailer VidaXL has started today with making its full assortment available for other online retailers. Through this dropshipment program, online retailers can easily grab all the needed product information and sell VidaXL’s products through their own online stores. Continue reading
Online shoppers are more satisfied with returns than last year, but still the overall customer satisfaction with returns (67 percent) is still much lower than the satisfaction with online delivery (85 percent). Online retailers should have a returns service that offers convenience, while also giving customers better in-transit information about their order. Continue reading
There has been a serious drop in the number of European retailers that offer free returns to their customers. It went from 55 percent in the first quarter of this year to 28 percent now. In the UK, half of brands offer free returns, while 23 percent in Germany and 21 percent in Ireland do this. Continue reading
French postal service company La Poste will soon send parcels to online customers on Sunday. The postal service company will do this via its subsidiary Chronopost and the service is only reserved for goods coming from companies, not from other consumers. Continue reading
DHL has further expanded its European parcel network. The postal company is now able to offer its cross-border services for online customers in Ireland and Romania, while Croatia and Bulgaria will join the network in November. Continue reading
French consumers are more open to new delivery methods than consumers from the United Kingdom or the Netherlands. For example, 58 percent of the French would give couriers temporary access to their homes to let them deliver parcels. In the UK and the Netherlands, it’s respectively only 36 and 25 percent of consumers who would do this. Continue reading
Online retailer Otto has further expanded its delivery service. Customers who place an order before 8 PM can have their order delivered to them for free the very next day. The next day delivery service is effective immediately for over 12,000 products. Continue reading
Ecommerce shipping tool SendCloud has raised 5 million euros thanks to investors henQ, BOM and TiiN Capital. With the fresh funding, the Dutch scale-up wants to further improve the ecommerce logistics in Europe and thus expand their presence on this continent. Continue reading
Aha, the largest online marketplace of Iceland, has partnered with the Israeli drone company Flytrex to expand its delivery options. By using the drone delivery system, Aha can now deliver goods between two parts of the city of Reykjavik that are separated by a wide river. Continue reading
International returns platform ReBound has introduced its return services to the ecommerce market in the United Kingdom. With ReBound, online retailers can manage both international and domestic returns using one multi-carrier returns solutions. Continue reading
Logistics provider Hermes has opened an automated parcel distribution hub in the United Kingdom, which is said to be the biggest one in the country. The hub measures 2,500 square meters and has the capability to process over one million parcels per day. Continue reading
In the near future, business customers and consumers from Swiss Post can benefit from a new service, which will roll out nationwide. Swiss Post will offer the ability to deliver parcels within four different time slots. Continue reading