eCommerce Delivery – Who Is Most Patient?

Shipping is one aspect in eCommerce which online retailers are constantly trying to improve, as the fact that consumers cannot take the purchased items home right away is still a major disadvantage that online shopping has compared to stationary retail. Convenient shipping possibilities are thus essential for a positive online shopping experience for the customer. One aspect in online shopping deliveries is the cost. A great share of consumers in many countries regard free shipping of their online orders a decisive factor in their online shopping experience. But what about delivery times? How long are consumers across Europe prepared to wait for their online orders to be delivered to their doorsteps? The PostNord E-commerce in Europe report 2020 has the answer:

Swedish logistics solution provider PostNord conducted a consumer survey among 12,800 onliners between 15 and 79 years of age in Europe to analyze their attitudes, preferences and behaviors when shopping online. The E-commerce in Europe report 2020 also features data on what European online shoppers expect from online stores regarding shipping times. According to the results, most eCommerce customers in the five big European markets UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, and France want their online orders to be delivered within less than a week. The bulk of consumers in all five countries accept delivery times between 3 and 5 days. Germans are most impatient to receive their online orders: 75% find delivery times of 3 to 5 days the acceptable maximum, 14% expect parcels to arrive even faster. Only 10% are okay with longer delivery times. Online shoppers in the UK are comparably impatient. For 82% of UK eCommerce customers, 5 days is the maximum acceptable delivery time for online orders. Only 13% accept delivery times of 6 days or more. The French are a lot more patient in this respect. With 28%, France has the highest share of online shoppers who are prepared to wait 6 days or longer for their online orders to arrive at their homes. “Only” 69% expect eCommerce delivery times of at least 5 days. Italy and Spain are in midfield, with 79% and 77% accepting a maximum delivery time of 5 days, respectively. According to the report, consumer expectations regarding acceptable delivery times are generally lower than in previous years across the countries surveyed. As demands in eCommerce surged during the coronavirus pandemic, which put online stores and logistic partners under significant pressure, parcels often took longer to arrive than usual. Consumers apparently understand and are less demanding in these unusual times.