The UK is a great market for retailers, as shoppers are keen to spend, and there’s plenty of interest in online commerce. In fact, it’s become the norm after the lockdowns. In this blog, we’ll take a look at key areas to think about when looking for success with delivery in the UK.
Preferred delivery location
In 2021, we asked 1,000 UK respondents about their preferred delivery location. Staggeringly, almost 90% of respondents said that it was their home, whilst Click & Collect got around 7%, and delivery to work had 5%. UK customers have become used to having their parcel sent to their houses, as many customers continue to work from home after the lockdowns. This is often seen as the most safe option.
What is now your most preferred delivery method online? (2021)
(Source: Maru, nShift and IMRG Home Delivery Report)
Preferred delivery time
In 2021, we found out that customers mostly expect their orders to arrive within 3 day of purchase. However, more respondents said the next day, same day, or next working day, than said above 3 days. This indicates a consumer hunger for rapid delivery in the UK.
Think about when you place an online order. What is your expectation for how long standard delivery options should take to arrive?
(Source: Maru, nShift and IMRG Home Delivery Report)
Popular sites
Popular sites for online orders in the UK include marketplaces such as Amazon and John Lewis and Partners, as well as fashion stores such as boohoo, Gymshark, and Nike. Beauty retailers such as LOOKFANTASTIC and Fragrance Direct offer shoppers the chance to find multiple brands on one site, which means they can easily add many brands to their basket without needing to go to different stores and pay extra postage.
Popular products
According to IMRG’s digital dashboard clothing is performing particularly well post-pandemic, as it’s made a bounce-back after poor growth during the lockdowns, when people were less interested in buying clothes to wear around their house. Showing positive growth as of April 2022 is considered good post-pandemic results, since the majority of the other retail categories are in the negative in the UK market.
We can see from this data, that in order to tap into the UK market, retailers must consider quick delivery to the home of the shopper, and adopting strategies such as popular marketplaces, and clothing stores. There’s an appetite in the UK for online commerce, and retailers can make the most of it.
