Dutch returns

A study of European online shoppers has indicated that the Dutch are the most likely to take advantage of a returns service.

Using evidence gathered from its E-Shopper Barometer , DPD said in a statement posted on its website: “With a return percentage of 9%, the Netherlands is the leader in Europe. The Netherlands is closely followed by the UK, Belgium and Switzerland with 8%. Half of all returned parcels in the Netherlands consist of clothing. This is a considerable increase compared to the previous year, namely 35% in 2016. This creates the impression that, according to the consumer, the option of returning is an essential service when shopping online.”

DPD added: “A large proportion of the Dutch people (89%) consider free returns to be important for online shopping, followed by transparent return costs (86%) and the possibility of delivering a parcel to a delivery point (75%).

“If webshops do not meet these conditions, e-shoppers are more likely to ignore this webshop. When it comes to delivery, e-shoppers also make high demands. They wish to have complete control over the delivery location, day and time. Consumers even want to be able to change their delivery time when the parcel is already on its way. A majority (81%) cited this as the main reason for ordering more frequently from webshops, followed by 77 percent who mentioned evening delivery.”