Descartes Systems Group, a global company that connects businesses with intensive logistics operations to commerce, released the results of its third annual consumer perception study on e-commerce deliveries, titled ‘Online Shopping Grows, But Many Consumers Still Face Delivery Issues’.
The survey shows that 39% of respondents made more online purchases during the analyzed period this year compared to last year, and 57% started buying in at least one new product category. Despite the increase in volume and frequency of online purchases across all demographic groups, 67% of consumers reported experiencing delivery issues.
The study also points out that delivery issues can represent a barrier to future online purchases. When asked what would discourage them from shopping more online, 21% cited negative delivery experiences, 20% said deliveries are unreliable, and 17% expressed dissatisfaction with the delivery process. Additionally, 63% of those who faced delivery issues took some action that resulted in negative consequences for the retailer or logistics company (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Consumer Actions in Response to Delivery Issues
 Source: Descartes & SAPIO Research |
‘Although the third year of this study shows small year-over-year improvements in various areas related to residential delivery performance, consumer dissatisfaction levels remain high,’ says Chris Jones, EVP of Industry at Descartes. ‘Mediocre performance and inconsistent delivery experiences are solvable problems. There are already proven market strategies, operational best practices, and technological solutions that retailers and delivery companies can adopt to provide an efficient delivery experience tailored to consumer preferences,’ concludes the executive.
The research was conducted by Descartes in partnership with SAPIO Research, with 8,000 consumers from Europe and North America, and analyzed online shopping behavior during the first three months of 2024. The goal was to obtain a comprehensive view of the current state of e-commerce and home delivery performance, understanding, for example, the reasons for increases or decreases in online purchases, the types of products purchased, shopping frequency, delivery preferences, experiences encountered, and the impact of delivery failures on retailers and their logistics partners. The study also evaluates how consumer behavior and perception vary by demographic profile.
To access the full report, read: ‘Online Shopping Grows, But Many Consumers Still Face Delivery Issues‘.
