UK e-tailers hit hard by failed deliveries

Small to medium British e-commerce retailers lose £183,000 a year through failed deliveries, according to a new report from PCA Predict.

The company polled over 300 retailers in the UK, US and Germany and also found that US e-tailers lost £155,816.06 and German ventures £107,538.30. Over the last year, the average cost per failed delivery to a retailer was £12.89. UK businesses in particular suffer from this, with 5.6% of orders not arriving at their destination, at an average cost of £14.35.

UK shoppers also suffer disproportionately, with 73% affected, compared to 66% in the US. German customers are comparatively better off, with 48% reporting negative delivery experiences. 78% of total consumers expect the retailer to resolve an issue, whether it’s the retailer or the courier that’s at fault. 65% of retailers said that failed or late deliveries are a significant cost to their business. 54% will refund the delivery charges to the customer, 54% will pay additional costs for redelivery and 38% will offer the customer a discount as an apology.

“If you consider that one in twenty of all online orders don’t make it to the intended recipient first time, these costs quickly build up. Failed deliveries not only carry cost implications, they can also cause significant damage to the retailer’s brand reputation, resulting in loss of repeat custom and failure to attract new customers,” says Chris Boaz, ‎Head of Marketing at PCA Predict.

He adds: “To mitigate against the issues caused by incorrect address data, retailers need to implement verification solutions that allow customers to provide as accurate data as possible. It’s essential that online retailers facilitate a streamlined user experience that ensures customers can go through the checkout process with ease. Removing this friction from the checkout process will play a huge part in fixing failed deliveries, to the joy of both online retailers and customers.”