UK shoppers prepared to pay for delivery – if the fee isn’t too high

New research from delivery management company Whistl has indicated that UK shoppers are not averse to paying for delivery for their online purchases, provided the fee isn’t too high. Two thirds of the survey’s 1,000 respondents said that overall they would not expect free delivery when placing orders online. However, when purchases go over £10 consumers begin to expect free delivery options.

The survey found that people are willing to pay between £2-4 for a delivery but two thirds (67%) said they would not continue with an online purchase if the delivery fee is deemed too high.

The majority of respondents (75%) said that the amount they will pay online is unaffected by the offer of free delivery – but a third of consumers “overbuy” to avoid delivery and return charges.

Consumers are prepared to wait longer for their delivery if they can get free delivery. Half of the respondents said they are willing to wait an extra two to three days for free delivery – and 28% are willing to wait an additional four to five days.

Interestingly, over half of UK customers prefer to buy internationally and experience longer delivery times if it means avoiding a delivery fee.

Melanie Darvall, Director Marketing & Communications Whistl, commented: “It is clear from the research that retailers need to take into consideration how much they charge for delivery and what the minimum spend should be, as this is having a direct impact on how much people spend on online purchases or whether they buy anything at all.

“We were surprised to find that nearly a third of consumers would purposefully overbuy with the intention of sending items back, purely in order to qualify for the free delivery. The UK consumer is complex and requires bespoke delivery solutions that enable the retailers to maximise the sales opportunity without impact on profit margins.”

The full details of the survey can be found here: Free delivery for online purchases survey