Published
Jan 24, 2018
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Online delivery speeds suffered last month, finds IMRG

Published
Jan 24, 2018

The online retail industry saw order volumes increase by 17.2% in December, however the proportion of orders arriving on time fell to 85% - the lowest level since 2011, hit by bad weather conditions and a surge in last-minute orders.


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According to the latest data from the IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index, the strong uplift in December 2017 contrasted with weak growth in the same month last year, when Black Friday pulled a bulk of orders forward to November.

Monday 18 December emerged as the most popular day for online shopping, as it is considered the last day shoppers feel genuinely confident their orders will arrive on time. But the whole week saw particularly high demand, driven by retailers’ efforts to guarantee delivery in time.

But despite their ambitious delivery targets, retailers were hit by bad weather and an unexpected sales surge, damaging their ability to deliver orders on time.

“December saw some extreme weather conditions across Scotland, Wales and northern England, which caused delays to movement of stock. It also featured record volumes for this period, including the late surge in orders that was higher than anticipated,” commented Andrew Starkey, Head of e-Logistics at IMRG.

“Another key influence was the high use of next day delivery which puts additional pressure on delivery windows and, in some cases, is an example of businesses giving their customers something they haven’t specifically asked for.”

According to the index, the average order value for parcel deliveries between November and December fell by 10% this year, compared with 6% growth in 2016.

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