Half of the online shoppers in the U.S. and Europe regularly abandon their carts for delivery-related reasons.
Expensive delivery charges top the polls in the UK: they’re the most common reason for not completing an online order (50%). A “lack of information” is just after a “complicated purchasing process” with 15% and a shortage of delivery options is also blamed by one in ten people. 34% of Britain’s small and medium retailers feel that better delivery options would help them compete more effectively. Almost half (46%) of shoppers say that “convenience and personalisation of fulfilment” are key factors for their buying decisions, with 27% thinking that delivery is too often disconnected from the rest of the retail experience.
And that is the U.K., Europe’s top Country when it comes to B2C eCommerce sales, second, at World level, only to USA and China [Source: Global B2C eCommerce Report 2017, by Netcomm].
At the European level, among the 9 most common reasons for checkout abandonment 5 are delivery related: 40% high cost, 15% long delivery time, 11% lack of info about returns, 8% preferred delivery option not available, 5% no track and trace available. [Source: Lost Sales at Checkout, by B2C Europe]
Let’s consider a broader audience. Metapack’s invaluable studies: State of eCommerce Delivery 2017 e Bridging the Delivery Gap 2016, both published in 2016, surveyed shoppers from the U.S., U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands and Germany. A staggering 46% of them have abandoned an online basket because of unsatisfactory delivery options. 38% would never shop again with a merchant following a negative delivery experience. 61% said they had bought goods from one retailer over another because they provided more delivery choices.
Fun fact: among these seven Countries the U.S. are the least tolerant when it comes to deliveries made in places different from home. The percentage of shoppers who have experienced parcel lockers in 2016 sees Americans last (only 4% vs 31% of Germany); delivery to a local shop or pickup point sees them second to last (26%, with Germany last at 25% and France first at 76%); they’re third at choosing to ship their deliveries to work (19% vs Italy, first at 25%) and at receiving orders in-store (UK first at 68%).
Temando has done similar research: Shopping Cart Abandonment & State of Shipping in Commerce and data, again, corresponds (surveyed Countries are U.S., U.K., Australia, and France). Among the ten most common reasons for checkout abandonment, 5 are shipping-related. To quote them: “The gap between consumer expectation and retailer capability is growing. The future belongs to retailers who capitalize on this opportunity and turn shipping and fulfilment into a retail weapon.” More shipping options have resulted in as much as a 75% reduction in cart abandonment.
Numbers that are as striking as they are coherent. They state what, in the last few years, has become fairly obvious: there’s no eCommerce without logistics and there will be no logistics for those unwilling to be an active part of the eCommerce experience.
