More than 2 in 5 Brits missed a delivery to home or work within the last year

London, 22 November 2021 Quadient (Euronext Paris: QDT), a leader in helping businesses create meaningful customer connections through digital and physical channels, has today announced the findings of a survey* into shopping behaviour and parcel delivery expectations, as consumers prepare for Black Friday and Christmas. The survey of 1,000 UK respondents conducted in October 2021, highlights the need for reliable incoming parcel management as delivery volumes continue to rise.

Key findings of the research include:

• In 2021, more than 2 in 5 (45%) Brits surveyed said they missed a delivery to home or work and required re-delivery attempts or depot collection. In our 2020 research survey, we found that less than a third (31%) of Brits expected to miss a delivery to home or work that would require re-delivery attempts or a depot collection in 2021
• A quarter (25%) of respondents say they missed more than three deliveries that required re-delivery attempts or depot collection, while a fifth (20%) say they missed between one and three
• This coming year, over a third (34%) of Brits expect to miss a delivery to home/work compared to 31% last year, indicating that people are starting to believe they will miss more parcels – this is most likely due to people no longer being at home as much as 2020
• 50% of respondents will do most of their shopping for Black Friday and Christmas online this year compared to 21% who expect to mostly shop in-store. For online shoppers, home delivery remains the most popular option (33% compared to 32% in 2020), highlighting the importance of being able to safely and conveniently receive deliveries at residential properties

“As per a recently published report by Centre for London, the continuing growth in demand for deliveries is unsustainable, meaning deliveries must be made greener and more efficient,” said Bren Standell, commercial director parcel lockers division UK/IRL at Quadient. “With half of people intending to do their shopping online this holiday season, as well as the number of people missing deliveries to their homes continuing to rise, it’s now more important than ever to get first time deliveries right. For build-to-rent properties and multi-tenant buildings, the issue of incoming parcel management is particularly apparent, with managers, agents and tenants all wanting to reduce the build-up of parcels in communal areas and ensure tenants can take delivery of their items with reduced contact. As parcel volumes continue rising, the relevant parties will also want a solution that minimises operational costs and improves resident satisfaction.”

Security can be an issue when shoppers aren’t available to take delivery of their parcels directly. In 2020, a fifth (20%) of Brits surveyed said that in the last 12 months, they had experienced instances of lost or stolen parcel deliveries – this year, the number has increased to a quarter (25%) of those surveyed stating they have had a parcel lost or stolen. This shows that this is an ongoing and increasing issue.

The survey also found:

• Parcel locker use has increased from 38% of respondents ever using them last year, to 44% this year with 1 in 9 (11%) saying they use parcel lockers frequently**
• Over a quarter (28%) of those that use parcel lockers say the most likely reason they do so is for convenience, while just over a fifth (21%) say it was down to the 24/7 availability. These statistics are consistent with those from 2020 indicating that convenience is still the main reason people use parcel lockers

“When looking back at our 2020 research, it can be seen that daily online shopping is slightly down this year, while daily in-store shopping is up,” continues Standell. “Nevertheless, it’s notable that this difference is not drastic, despite numerous shops being impacted by closures in 2020. This means issues with parcel storage and missed deliveries remain pertinent, and that there is still pressure to implement a parcel management solution which is efficient, convenient and secure.”

*Survey of 1,000 general respondents in the UK between 07.10.2021 – 11.10.2021 conducted by Censuswide.

**Statistic combines ‘very frequently’ and ‘frequently’.