Study: Consumers’ holiday shipping concerns put pressure on retailers

Retailers will be under mounting pressure this holiday season to ensure deliveries arrive on time and at the correct destination as online spending continues to sure amid the pandemic.

Seventy-three percent of American consumers plan to do their holiday shopping online, and 26% plan to ship gifts directly from retailers to friends and family, according to a survey by location intelligence service Loqate. Eighty-eight percent of consumers expressed concern over packages arriving late.

With this season's increase in volume and one in 20 online orders never arriving at their intended destinations, the stakes are high, the report found.  For most consumers, filling out shipping and billing address fields, particularly on mobile devices, is the most cumbersome part of digital shopping, according to Loqate.

"Address verification plays a critical role in the digital shopping experience,” said Matthew Furneaux, director of location intelligence at Loqate. “The right solution can decrease shopper input by as much as 78% ensuring accurate customer data, increasing online conversion rates, reducing failed deliveries and improving the customer experience.”  

Other findings from the study are below.
•    Free shipping and promotions remain the biggest factors driving purchase decisions, followed by customer reviews and recipient wish lists.

•    Forty-three percent of consumers plan to send gifts internationally. With the nuances of international shipping, retailers need to be extra vigilant to ensure accurate, on-time deliveries, advised Loqate.

•    Eighty-six are worried about stolen packages. 

•    Forty percent have more trust in retailers with address verification and autocomplete than those without. Twenty-three percent would make additional purchases in the future from that retailer and 20% would register for an account.

•    Fifty-seven percent would avoid using a retailer again if they had a negative delivery experience.