Faster, Inexpensive Delivery Drives Online Shopping

A new survey found that online consumers are becoming more demanding when it comes to shipping options.

June 15, 2016

WASHINGTON – A new poll from AlixPartners showcases how impatient online shoppers have become, with more than half now looking for retailers with fast, inexpensive shipping options, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The survey discovered that consumers expect shipments from online retailers to take 4.8 days on average, down from 5.5 days four years ago. Only 60% would wait more than five days, a significant decline from the 74% in 2012. Although more than 50% hadn’t used same-day shipping, more respondents indicated that free shipping offers “greatly” swayed their decision to order. More than half also said they look at online products because of how those products are shipped.

These results highlight how much shipping has become a factor in online buying decisions, “a reaction to what the market leaders in retail are putting out there...obviously in the e-commerce space, Amazon and Wal-Mart are influential to consumers,” said Marc Iampieri with AlixPartners. “Customers say, ‘I like that, I want that.’ And now everyone has to offer it.”

Those expectations have proven to be a nightmare at times for retailers because of the higher cost associated with dropping packages at numerous locations as opposed to in batches to retail units. The least popular delivery items included auto parts, cleaning supplies, pet supplies and groceries, with 70% of the survey respondents saying they won’t be using a grocery delivery service anytime soon.

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