“More orders using ‘next day’ delivery than ‘economy’ for first time”

For the first time, in August, the percentage of UK online orders opting for “next day” delivery was higher than those going for the “economy option, according to the IMRG Metapack UK Delivery Index. The gap between the two statistics was still tight, at 36.7% and 33.8% respectively.

Andrew Starkey, head of e-logistics, IMRG, commented: “We’ve been tracking a general increase in the percentage of ‘next day’ orders for a while now, and in August it became the most popular option domestically for the first time.

“There are a number of factors potentially influencing this – some retailers see delivery as a differentiator and are offering next day as standard, others offer it if the customer’s basket value is above a specific threshold and for others the charge for next day is smaller than it has been on average in previous years.

“A move toward faster delivery is not unexpected and, for carriers, it doesn’t represent a capacity issue during most of the year – but during peaks such as the Black Friday period, promotion of next day delivery should be handled more cautiously.”