25% of shoppers in the UK say online delivery costs too high

The convenience of anytime, anywhere shopping online is what stops many fighting their way around crowded stores and malls. According to Trimble's survey, the findings of which were reported by Econsultancy, 36% said the key benefit of online shopping was convenience.

Crowded shops and malls put many off heading to the high street (20%) and for 15% online shopping saved them time out of their busy lifestyles.

Research shows that a key reason many head online is to find the best price, and consumers told Trimble that they were happy to pay the average delivery charge of $4.65 (£2.99) if they could make a purchase online cheaper and, at the same time, make fuel savings.

Despite many online retailers offering free delivery, 25% of respondents thought delivery costs are too high. However, the desire to quickly receive products purchased online is evident with 40% willing to pay for next day delivery.

A report released earlier this year by technology firm Micros analyzed the final stage in the buying process in the UK, the delivery of goods, and found that while overall improvements have been made there is still room for much improvement when it comes to failed deliveries.

Of 13 orders dispatched to an address with no-one at home just two drivers left cards to rearrange delivery. One driver left a telephone message and tried to redeliver the following day. The remaining deliveries were either left with an unknown neighbor with no card left at the recipients address to tell them where the goods were, left outside the front door or shoved through the letterbox.

"Some of the findings are disappointing; the failed delivery experience is still highly unpredictable, many retailers are still not offering detailed order tracking to the customer, and a quarter of the drivers that delivered our orders were described as 'rude'," said Carlo Rimini, business unit director for ecommerce at Micros UK.

"However, we believe that carriers and retailers are committed to resolving these issues and we expect to see improvements next year."

Tags: delivery fee, ecommerce, online delivery, online shopping, purchase process, research, retail, survey, UK