Autumn 2007

Online retailers are providing faster deliveries, and offering consumers more delivery options, according to the latest annual delivery report from consultancy Snow Valley.

But they say they can't offer all the options they would like because of either cost or limits on what the carriers can provide.

Snow Valley says 54 per cent of the retailers questioned in its survey managed to deliver within two working days as part of their standard delivery service, compared with only 36 per cent in 2006. Over 90 per cent of the test orders arrived within the timeframes given on the retailer's web site.

Two thirds of retailers now offer at least two options for when the goods will arrive, the report says, and an impressive 89 per cent allow delivery to an address other than the registered billing address.

The company assessed 71 online stores as part of the research, placing an order on each one. The resultant report examines 22 different aspects of the delivery process, including the availability of international delivery, gift wrapping services, online order tracking and Saturday delivery.

Remarkably, all retailers contacted said that they planned to evaluate their delivery service in the next twelve months, and 60 per cent said that they wanted to offer more specific delivery time options. But 40 per cent said that carrier cost was preventing them from adding the options they wanted to provide.

There were other revealing findings. Thirteen retailers had increased their delivery charges, four retailers had reduced them, and 15 per cent offered free delivery as standard (30 per cent above a given purchase price threshold).

Fourteen per cent of the retailers from which goods were ordered did not tell the customer that a signature would be required on delivery; and a disappointing 29 per cent required the customer to register or log in before the delivery cost was shown.

You can get the whole report free from the Snow Valley web site. You'll find the link at www.FollowUpOnline.net.