UK courier and express delivery services space booms amid coronavirus outbreak

The UK courier and express delivery market is set to reach £13.5 billion this year, according to Mintel.

The company estimates the space will achieve annual growth of 23% in 2020, the biggest annual increase since 2015, when the growth rate was 17%.

The boom comes as 42% of 2,000 Brits surveyed by Mintel said they had done more online shopping since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.

Francesco Salau, Mintel Research Analyst, says: “The likelihood of ongoing social distancing measures should benefit the courier and delivery industry, with an increase in homeworking meaning that the inconvenience of having to ensure that you are at home to receive large deliveries becomes less of a pain for consumers.”

“In the long-term, the steady rise in e-commerce sales, increasing sophistication of delivery services, and the growth of delivery subscription services should outweigh the damage done to the sector by a slowing economy.

Health and safety has become a key concern for both consumers and courier workers, with major couriers quick to demonstrate awareness of this by offering contactless delivery and equipping the sector’s workers with protective equipment, he adds. This will speed up trends that were emerging prior to the crisis, such as drone delivery and technologies that allow couriers access to car boots and smart ‘drop boxes’ outside consumers’ homes.

A generational divide will arise as a result of Covid-19, Mintel reckons. Many older consumers have been forced to engage with online retailing, as they’re part of the population especially at risk from the pandemic.

While Generation Z and Millennial consumers are likely to continue to be the leading online shoppers, they will also be more likely to be cutting back on non-essential spending than older groups. As a result, online retailers, and courier services, are more likely to rely on new business from older consumers in the short to medium term.