European eShoppers are the most sensitive to the issues of sustainability and flexibility when it comes to eCommerce shipping.
This is revealed by data collected by DHL in the report European Online Shopping Survey 2023, which analyses key eCommerce issues in ten different European markets.
The report provides answers to some key questions to improve the customer experience in general, and the delivery experience in particular, of European consumers. Among these, one is of particular interest to us: what are the preferred shipping methods of European eShoppers? In this article, we will try to answer this very question.
eCommerce shipping preferences: European eShoppers vs. global eShoppers
In Europe, DHL data reveal, alternative deliveries to traditional home delivery, i.e. deliveries at Lockers and Pick-up Points, are being adopted faster and more easily than in the rest of the world.
Home delivery, in fact, fell from 73 per cent in 2022 to 64 per cent in 2023, while deliveries to automated goods collection lockers alone – the Lockers, in fact – rose from 13 to 14 per cent. An increase of just one percentage point which, however, translated into absolute terms, means a growth of more than one million users in just one year.
Parcel Shop deliveries, for their part, represent an average of 10% in Europe. This is therefore – as with Locker – the highest value globally.
In the rest of the world, then, how do eShoppers prefer to have their orders shipped?
USA
In the US, 83% of online shoppers still prefer Home Delivery, while Lokcer and Parcel Shop account for only 5% and 2% of total eCommerce shipments, respectively.
Latin America
It is no better in Latin America (the macro area also called LATAM), where Home Delivery reaches 92%, Lockers stop at 2%, and Parcel Shops at 4%.
Asia-Pacific
The best results for Lockers are therefore to be found in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) macro-area, where they reach 7% of total eCommerce shipments, against 4% for Parcel Shops.
Middle East and North Africa
Only one percentage point less (6%), however, is recorded in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), where Parcel Shops represent only 1% of the total.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Finally, in Sub-Saharan Africa, eCommerce shipments at Lockers stop at 2%, although it is interesting to note that eCommerce shipments at Parcel Shops reach 7% of the total.
eCommerce shipping preferences: differences between European eShoppersi
Europe, as the data show, is therefore the geographical area most sensitive to alternative eCommerce shipments. However, there are considerable differences between the different countries that populate this area.
Poland
As is well known, the country most ‘addicted’ to eCommerce shipments at Lockers is Poland, where almost half (49%) of eCommerce shipments are in fact addressed to the automated lockers available 24/7 for picking up online orders. Also in Poland, Parcel Shops account for 7%, leaving home deliveries a margin of 38%.
Sweden and Czech Republic
Very interesting figures for alternative deliveries also come, however, from Sweden and the Czech Republic. Here respectively 21% and 22% of eCommerce shipments are directed to Parcel Shops, and Locker Shops are also enjoying great success: 22% and 18% of the total respectively. Overall, therefore, alternative deliveries to the traditional Home Delivery in Sweden and the Czech Republic have already reached half of the total eCommerce shipments.
France and Austria
A note of credit then goes to France, where 20% of eCommerce shipments in 2023 went to Parcel Shops, while Lockers stop at 8%. In Austria, on the other hand, the use of Lockers exceeds the 10% threshold – 11%, to be precise – while Parcel Shops stop at 4%.
Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and the UK
This is followed by all the other countries analysed, where the percentage of eCommerce shipments at Locker and Parcel Shops is still low, but growing (Germany 10% overall, Spain 13%, the Netherlands 14%, the United Kingdom 7%).
But how does Italy compare to other European countries?
eCommerce shipping preferences: Italian eShoppers
In Italy, the total share of eCommerce shipments at Locker and Parcel Shop is, according to DHL, 15% (9% Locker, 4% Parcel Shop).
However, the use of alternative delivery methods is growing strongly and in the coming years we might not be surprised to see Italy reach the figures of some of the European countries mentioned earlier.
Furthermore, there are further aspects (and data) to take into consideration, which allow us to frame the Italian market as particularly attentive to the theme of a more conscious and sustainable delivery experience.
In fact, 75% of Italian eShoppers surveyed state that sustainability is an ‘important’ aspect when it comes to online shopping. The European average stands at 59%.
Moreover, 19% (in line with the European average) say they are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly green shipping.
In short, the trend is becoming clear across Europe: more and more eShoppers are moving in the direction of sustainable and flexible eCommerce shipping and are (finally) starting to increasingly prefer alternative delivery methods, such as Locker and Pick-up Points, to traditional home delivery.
So, what are you waiting for? Offer your customers now the possibility to pick up their orders at over 200,000 already active Pick-up Points.
Connect GEL Proximity Collection Points now for free!
