Survey puts figures on failed deliveries

Forty-two per cent of home shoppers have had to collect missed deliveries from a Post Office or other depot in the past year ­ and 25 per cent have done this more than once. Fifty-four per cent have waited in for a home delivery, and 28 per cent have done this at least three times. Thirty-one per cent have waited in for a delivery that failed to arrive.

These are among the findings of the 2001 Home Delivery Survey, which was mounted jointly by BearBox (the drop-off box manufacturer) and TNS, the convenience store chain.

Despite this poor experience among existing home shoppers, the survey found that 27 per cent of all respondents expected to increase their use of home delivery over the next 12 months, and only 4 per cent said they would reduce it. Fifty-eight per cent said that improved delivery convenience would encourage them to use home delivery more.

Nearly a quarter of respondents disliked supermarket shopping, and 70 per cent cited convenience and time-saving as key benefits of home delivery.