More Than 90% of Parcels Are Delivered on the First Attempt

The global logistics market generated €441 billion in 2021 and is forecast to grow by more than 13% annually, to reach a market volume of €771 billion by 2026. Triggered, among other things, by a rising demand from eCommerce, logistics companies have to process an ever greater amount of shipments. Fast delivery is, in this respect, not only in the interest of the customer. Fast shipping is among the most important online shopping criteria in the opinion of online shoppers in the western world and a crucial part in a successful customer journey. It is also for the benefit of the seller and of the deliverer. The longer a parcel stays with a deliverer, the higher the processing cost both for the seller and the logistics company. Last-mile delivery hurdles are significant cost drivers. An efficient and fast last-mile delivery does not only depend on the logistics company’s own processing capabilities, but also on other factors such as correct address and geolocation data or a customer’s availability at home. Not all parcels can thus be successfully delivered on the first attempt. Ti Insight and Parcel Monitor have published data on the success rates of first delivery attempts in selected countries – painting a generally rather positive picture:

All countries analyzed show success rates of close to or above 90% of all parcels shipped in the respective country in Q4 2022. The Netherlands is at the top, with 99.7% of parcels shipped in Q4 2022 delivered successfully on the first attempt. Finland follows closely with a success rate of 99.5%. In general, the Nordics are strong – ranks 3 and 4 are occupied by Norway and Sweden with 98.6% and 98.0%, respectively. Norway also registered a remarkable increase in delivery success on the first delivery attempt compared to Q4 2021. The 2022 success rate is 6.1 percentage points higher than in the preceding year, which means Norway climbed up several steps in the ranking since Q4 2021. The United States is in rank 5, with a stable rate of 97.8% in Q4 2022. Spain, in rank 6, registered the highest year-on-year increase. The rate of parcels successfully delivered on the first attempt in Spain rose by 6.6 percentage points from 89.5% in Q4 2021 to 96.1% in Q4 2022. Only two countries in this comparison show rates slightly below 90%: Australia with 89.7% and Austria with 88.0%. In order to avoid delivery failures resulting from address location problems and to raise success rates even further, leading logistics companies are already using sophisticated location software that supports their last-mile personnel in the best way possible.