Does the Choice in Parcel Delivery Company Make a Difference?
By: Kemal Sidar
Tags: Retail, Ecommerce, Marketing, Sales, Amazon

The United Kingdom is the world’s third-largest e-commerce market with internet retail sales demonstrating a continuous increase over the last decade.

This means that there are a large number and an ever-increasing number of parcels needing to be delivered.

When the business of e-commerce is viewed from this aspect the question about the choice of parcel delivery companies definitely does make a difference.

Addressing this question around parcel delivery companies depends on your perspective; Customer or Retailer.

In the United Kingdom parcel delivery services do a number of things tremendously well and provide excellent services, such as giving the customer choices for specific time slots and making changes to the delivery whilst it is in transit.

Customers are able to provide detailed instructions for the delivery of parcels; picked up from a neighbour, collected at a retail store and under current circumstances have the parcel placed in the boot of their car.

The benefits of selling products in the UK with these types of parcel delivery services means that those selling the product work closely with their parcel delivery company to ensure that customers delivery expectations are met.

It can therefore be extremely beneficial to have a local sales consultant in the UK to provide support for this aspect of the sales process.

In 2019 a survey of customers showed that the Royal Mail is the preferred delivery company by over 50% of customers.

An alternative perspective on the preferred delivery company can be seen through an annual poll conducted by MoneySavingExpert.com; the most recent, 2020, poll placed Royal Mail as the third most popular with DPD and CollectPlus as the joint top parcel delivery company from the perspective of its customers.

CollectPlus moved up from 5th place in 2019. DPD has continuously been selected as the top parcel delivery firm for the last seven years.

These 2020 results show that preference is not necessarily stagnant, customers change preferences but at the same time some things stay the same.

Now although this provides some interesting insights it does not provide a clear answer.

The other side of the delivery coin is the Retailer and although the 2019 survey showed the popularity of Royal Mail as a delivery company it is the second most preferred delivery option for retailers, with the Hermes Group being the most popular option for retailers.

There is some overlap between the preferences of Customers and Retailers perhaps a third viewpoint could assist.

The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport put together a list of the top 30 logistics and service providers in the UK. This list is created by assessing the financials, performance, accreditation, the gender pay gap and human resource factors of the delivery companies. According to this list the DPD Group is on top followed by DHL Supply Chain and then UPS.

As 2020 unfolds Retailers will need to look at the requirements of Customers and Parcel Delivery Companies; Customers for more online products, safer delivery options and quicker delivery including same day delivery and Parcel Delivery Companies for safe working environments and more efficient work processes.

By having a sales and marketing consultancy firm in the UK companies have a higher chance of being aware of these issues surrounding customer and delivery companies’ requirements, which means that products will reach happier customers through safe channels resulting in better sales and increased profit.

So, it depends not only on your perspective but also your criteria for answering this question.

If the customer is always right, then at least 50% of UK customers want Royal Mail and you have your answer. However, ultimately customers want their parcels delivered safely, quickly and quite often free.