DHL welcomes Digital Britain report
DHL Express UK has welcomed the publication of Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report on 23 February.
DHL Express UK has welcomed the publication of Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report on 23 February.
CEO Ken McCall announced that the universal availability of broadband to UK households by 2010 will have a direct and positive effect on the home delivery market.
“Home delivery has been a key consumer issue in recent years, and combined with these new proposals will remain so as more people gain access to online shopping,” said McCall.
Research company Datamonitor commented that in a European context, “B2C deliveries will be the major growth area for the European express and parcels market in the next few years, with the European B2C market forecast to grow to over €12bn [$15.3bn] by 2012 alone.”
Although online shopping growth in the UK has been impressive, DHL believes that the home delivery element of home shopping has been a significant barrier to seeing considerable growth in online sales, despite the economic climate.
Jonathan Smith, managing director of DHL Domestic Express said: “The keystone of successful e-commerce is efficient consumer delivery and return. As the fundamental retail distribution models change, the focus of industry and government attention will steadily move towards achieving greater efficiency. In the internet age, having an effective framework for the point to point movement of goods will be of critical national importance. We at DHL are already addressing this key issue. We have reacted to the growth on online shopping by putting in place a home delivery model called DHL@Home that meets customer’s needs while allowing the cost of home delivery to be kept low. Its success is reflected in the 60% growth in deliveries experienced over the Christmas period.”
James Roper, CEO of IMRG, highlights the importance of the proposal from the Carter Report: “Online services have become basic necessities for society. But, a third of the UK population still does not shop online, and this is now seen as a major political problem for the European commission and national governments, because these people are disenfranchised and missing out on the huge benefits, convenience and savings that the internet provides. The Carter Report is a step towards addressing this issue.”
Roper backs the prediction that these steps will not only drive the economy but will have a huge impact for express parcel services. “IMRG predict that the home delivery market in the UK will grow by at least 25% in the next 3 years taking the current economic climate into account,” he said.
