Many Brits stuck in parcel purgatory as they spend hours waiting for deliveries, ZigZag research
New research from ZigZag has found 43% of UK consumers take time off work or rearrange their day to wait for a delivery each month, amounting to approximately 32 hours of lost time annually, or four full working days. Of these orders, 22% either arrive late or don’t arrive at all.
2,000 people were surveyed for this. The findings reveal consumers are being left in “parcel purgatory”, as uncertain delivery windows, late parcels, and poor communication after checkout force shoppers to plan their working days around online orders. One in ten UK shoppers were unable to work while waiting for a delivery in the last month, wasting an estimated £214.5 million worth of working hours. The average time spent waiting for a delivery is 11% longer than the average UK consumer spends speaking with customer service lines.
The report also uncovered issues with post-purchase communications affecting a significant proportion of orders made online in the UK. Communication was found to fall short of expectations for one in five online orders, representing an estimated £23.5 billion worth of purchases. The consequences for retailers are significant: 62% of consumers stated that they would stop shopping with a retailer after a poor delivery experience, rising to 64% after a poor returns experience.
Al Gerrie, CEO at ZigZag, says: “E-commerce has reached an inflection point, where growth has slowed and attracting new customers is more costly than maintaining a loyal customer base. In this environment, the biggest battleground for retailers comes after the point of purchase. Waiting in for a delivery is up there with the most frustrating disruptions to daily life and consumers are now spending longer waiting for parcels than they do dealing with customer service lines. Late deliveries also lead to higher return rates, which drive up costs for businesses and breed frustrations that retailers can’t afford."
"With shoppers cautious about spending, making a positive impression once an item has been bought is the difference between losing a customer at the final hurdle, and building the loyalty needed for growth.”
Expectations are especially high when things go wrong. 95% of consumers expect delivery or returns issues to be flagged within 24 hours, while 42% prefer instant refunds. The research suggests that shoppers are becoming less tolerant of uncertainty after purchase, particularly as household budgets remain under pressure with 36% of Brits expecting to be worse off in 2026.
The research divided consumers into five cohorts based on their demographics and preferences - Convenience Maximisers (primarily Millennials), Confidence Seekers (Gen X), Self-Reliant Browsers (Gen Z), Functional Pragmatists (Millennials and Gen X) and Certainty Planners (Baby Boomers).
Millennials broadly value convenience (70%) above all factors and make the largest proportion of online orders (23%). Baby Boomers prioritise predictability, transparency and reassurance while Gen Z is less tolerant to communications that aren’t immediately relevant.
Gerrie comments: “It has never been more important to know how your customer base behaves as a retailer. This doesn’t come down to guesswork, our report has found identifiable patterns among types of consumer. Millennials and Gen Z shoppers have starkly different requirements for how they prefer to be contacted, but many retailers will have both groups in their customer base. Understanding what they’re buying in that moment adds another competitive advantage. High rates of next-day deliveries prove the item is urgent, and require more proactive tracking updates whereas more routine purchases require convenient and easy ways of getting in touch with fewer updates. And understanding these nuances is vital to lifting loyalty and growing revenue.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Online delivery will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
