Business that trade online must focus on improving delivery services if they’re to continue meeting customers’ needs, one expert has claimed.
Andrew Starkey, an e-logistics specialist from industry body IMRG, says that recent e-retail advancements have made processes easier and cheaper, but warns that businesses can’t afford to let the pace of innovation in this area slow.
The comments come in the light of new figures from IMRG which detail the extent to which businesses’ finances are being affected by poor delivery services, postandparcel.info reports.
The group predicts that retailers in the UK will lose out on more than £770 million in business this year, simply because of delivery failures and mistakes. This figure drops to around £473 million when smaller marketplace stores are discounted, according to logistics-business-review.com.
The figures were compiled for IMRG by logistics firm Blackbay. The company’s chief executive, Nigel Doust, believes carriers still have some work to do. He said: “Carriers need to respond by finding ways to embrace a consumer relationship and enable consumer control, as well as offering a range of alternative delivery services.”
The government recently claimed that 35 per cent of online shoppers in the UK are now using click and collect services to get hold of their purchases from e-retailers, and predicts that this figure will double by 2017.
Author: Graeme Parton
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