Penn Elcom and Scurri report: UK parcel theft hits all time high

A wave of doorstep parcel theft is sweeping the UK, according to a new report commissioned by Penn Elcom, a British steel manufacturer and producer of the Penn Parcel Box, and sponsored by delivery management platform for e-commerce retailers, Scurri.

For this, YouGov surveyed samples of 2,000 random consumers in the UK, US, the UAE, Canada and Australia.

More than eight million parcels were lost or stolen between May 2021 and April 2022, with the UK having the largest increase in this area compared to other countries.

The UK saw a 5% rise in the previous 12 months, costing UK customers £320 million in missing goods.

The report also found that close to one in ten people across the world had at least one parcel lost or stolen from May 2021 to April 2022, amounting to 1.009 billion packages globally, at a total cost of £33.6 billion.

The world experienced an all time high of stolen or lost parcels with an estimated global rise of 155 million compared to the previous 12 month period, despite initiatives to tackle the surge since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The UK has suffered the greatest increase, topping the US. UK residents reported a blanket increase in parcel problems across the nation since the previous 12 month period, with 12% of people reporting a parcel lost or stolen, up from 7% between May 2020 and April 2021.

The report also reveals that 32% of Brits have had a package lost or stolen in their lifetime, which amounts to 21.5 million parcels, with this expected to rise unless preventive measures are put in place. Full-time workers were noted to be the most at risk group for incidents.

Penn Elcom’s chairman, Roger Willems, says: “A surge in online shopping accelerated by Covid, along with seasonal rushes, means couriers are under intense pressure to deliver parcels quickly.”

“Professional thieves are known to follow delivery vans, stealing packages minutes after they are dropped off, while opportunistic thieves take advantage of parcels left on doorsteps.”

Despite e-commerce surging, the study found that one in ten people around the world are now reluctant to shop online because of fear of theft.

Gavin Murphy, CMO at Scurri, says “When parcel delivery fails at the final hurdle, the customer experience fails expectations and customers may be discouraged from buying online again from that retailer.”

“Real-time data is critical. Simply stating that a package has been dispatched or is on board a last mile delivery vehicle is totally inadequate.”

“Nowadays, most customers anticipate a specific day or time for their deliveries. In order for this to happen, friction has to be removed by seamlessly connecting all aspects of the order, shipping and delivery process and systems, and this can minimise risks of incidents where packages are stolen.”

“We expect parcel piracy to continue to rise as global parcel deliveries increase if measures are not taken on a global scale.”

“We are doing our best to help delivery companies and drivers, who are under extreme pressure, and to save online shoppers the headache of waiting in for parcel deliveries, rearranging missed deliveries and traipsing to parcel depots – as well as the heartache of lost and stolen parcels,” adds Willems.