UK Customers Abandon Merchants That Lack Favorable Shipping Options

As many companies have pivoted to becoming e-commerce retailers in recent years in accordance with customer demand, they have had varying levels of success. While Amazon remains a powerhouse in western countries, other retailers have struggled or even outright failed in their own e-commerce endeavors.

In an effort to identify the biggest barriers to success, e-commerce shipping solutions companies ShipEngine and ShipStation recently published a guide titled, “Exploring the Nuances in Ecommerce.” The research examines the drivers and deterrents of consumer loyalty in ecommerce and found that 71 percent of consumers in the UK rank “high shipping costs” as the biggest barrier to becoming repeat customers.

Digital shopping is highly popular in the UK. Nearly three quarters of British consumers stated that they shop both online and offline.

Looking at customer loyalty drivers, the quality of delivery experience ranks as the third highest driver, with 51 percent of consumers surveyed citing it as a key reason why they regularly buy online from the same brand. Only affordable prices (as the number one ranking) and product quality (number two) rank higher for the consumers surveyed. Merchants included in the survey agreed on the importance of product quality (number one) and delivery quality (number three) as customer retention drivers, but disagree on the topic of affordability, ranking it as only their fourth most important retention driver.

Almost 85 percent of the consumers surveyed stated that a lack of adequate delivery options can influence whether they abandon their cart at the online checkout. A deeper examination of the survey results found that more than 61 percent of consumers stated they will sometimes abandon their cart and 23 percent indicated they will quite often or always abandon their cart if their desired delivery option is not offered. In something of a disconnect, more than 26 percent of the merchants surveyed believe that a lack of delivery options offered at the checkout “never” prevents consumers from finalizing their purchase.