Next-day online retail orders on the rise

Online retail order growth was up by 18.2% year-on-year during August, the latest data from the IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index has shown.

The study suggests that shopper confidence is showing some resilience following the Brexit decision. Since the EU referendum on 23 June, retail group IMRG has tracked an increase in the percentage of orders going cross-border – most likely due to a sharp fall in the valuation of sterling. This continued to be the case in August, with 27.8% of UK orders going to international destinations.

There was also a notable development in the delivery options that shoppers are selecting. For the first time in the history of the index, the percentage of orders using next-day delivery was higher than those using economy delivery – 36.7% versus 33.8%.

Andrew Starkey, head of e-logistics at IMRG, said: “We’ve been tracking a general increase in the percentage of next-day orders for a while now, and in August it became the most popular option domestically for the first time.

“There are a number of factors potentially influencing this – some retailers see delivery as a differentiator and are offering next-day as standard, others offer it if the customer’s basket value is above a specific threshold, and for others the charge for next-day is smaller than it has been on average in previous years.

“A move toward faster delivery is not unexpected and, for carriers, it doesn’t represent a capacity issue during most of the year – but during peaks such as the Black Friday period, promotion of next-day delivery should be handled more cautiously.”