£648m in damaged products to be delivered this Black Friday
Research by DS Smith reveals that 8% of the £8.1 billion spent by Brits during Black Friday 2018 week will be on products which arrive damaged.
This also shows that 75% of online shoppers have received a damaged item in the last 12 months. Categories most affected are homeware/kitchenware (23.68%), electronic goods/technology (15.29%), other, which includes books, toiletries and DVDS (13.10%), clothing/footwear (12.41%) and food/drink (9.54%). The best performing categories are flowers and other gift items (2.53%) followed by garden products (2.99%), sports equipment (4.37%), furniture (7.59%) and toys (8.51%).
To vent their frustrations, shoppers aged 18-24 are the most likely age group to leave a negative review or tell a friend about their experience, while 25-34-year olds are more likely to complain on social media.
Often, however, consumers decide that seeking a refund is too much hassle (40%) or the damage wasn’t severe enough (46%), so a quarter keep their damaged products, meaning that up to £162 million worth of refunds could go unclaimed this Black Friday if a replacement is not offered. A third of people have also had refunds refused or delayed – leading frustrated shoppers to place the blame on their delivery company (40%) or incorrectly-sized packaging (15%).
Greg Dawson, Director of Corporate Affairs at DS Smith, says: “The journey from the online retailer to the shopper’s front door has up to 50 touchpoints; that’s 40 more than an in-store retailer, so it’s vital that the packaging protects the product throughout the entire journey.”
