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As the holiday shopping season approaches, retailers better get their ship together. So finds a new survey on holiday shopping from supply chain platform Project44.
More than half (58%) of Americans said they’re either unlikely or very unlikely to shop at a retailer who missed a promised delivery date in the past. In the UK, respondents were even more unforgiving, with more than three out of four respondents (76%) saying they were unlikely or very unlikely to reorder from a retailer who flubbed on a promised delivery date.
That may seem unjust when the delays are often the fault of their shippers, but the report stressed that consumers put the blame squarely on retailers.
“Even when third-party shippers like UPS or FedEx are responsible, the blame falls squarely on the brand,” the report said. “Shoppers don’t make distinctions between the shipper and the retailer—they hold the brand accountable.”
The global survey polled more than 1,300 consumers.
Free will: Consumers care so much about products arriving when they’re supposed to that they’re even willing to pay more to ensure that happens. In the US, 47% shoppers said they’d pay more to guarantee on-time delivery; in the UK, 53% said they’d do so.
It will surprise no one that when asked to rank six shopping concerns for the upcoming shopping season, 40% cited as the top concern the perception that goods cost more this year. Second on the list was the concern that retailers are raising the threshold for free shipping or eliminating free shipping entirely, the top concern of 25% of respondents.