Quick deliveries are not a high priority for a significant number of British online shoppers, a survey conducted for parcel locker provider InPost has found.
The survey was conducted by market research and data analytics firm YouGov, which found that 24% of consumers shopped online due to the convenience of receiving items quickly, but 17% said they had never needed an item quickly.
It has been suggested that the logistics industry’s pursuit of speed may be pre-emptive rather than driven by consumer demand.
The information was revealed in the survey, which also uncovered that 45- to 54-year-olds are the most prolific online shoppers, not millennials.
More than 2,000 shoppers were questioned, with 22% of 45- to 54-year-olds saying they made in excess of 50 online purchases a year.
The most common answer for 18- to 24-year-olds and 25- to 34-year-olds was 1-10 orders a year, at 28% and 19% respectively.
The survey also revealed that 20% of respondents regularly missed home deliveries, rising to 32% for 18- to 24-year-olds and 37% for 25- to 34-year-olds.
43% were able to collect their parcels from a neighbor but this fell with age, varying from 47% of over-55s to 28% of 18- to 24-year-olds.
Jason Tavaria, chief executive of InPost, said it was no secret that the UK delivery market is at breaking point, dealing with 9.5 million parcels a day.
He said, “It’s telling that a significant percentage of respondents are indifferent to needing items quickly; as an industry there has been an obsession with the need for speed, but it is possible that this need has been created by expectation of demand rather than genuine consumer need.”
While admitting there is no single solution to fix the UK delivery market, InPost wants to change consumer behavior to create a more sustainable system.
Tavaria added: “Collection at parcel lockers not only eases the logistical headache for consumers, retailers and delivery drivers, but can also have a positive environmental impact by taking vehicles off the road and ensuring delivery first time, every time.”