The Importance of Parcel Tracking

How Important Is Parcel Tracking to Your Business and Your Customers?

Parcel tracking can provide needed reassurance to both your business and your customers when items are being delivered and the profitability of the sale is almost on hold. With customers needing more items delivered due to many stores being closed over the last 12 months, parcel tracking and transparency of the delivery process have become more important to more people.

To understand more about the changes in consumer behaviour, Whistl and Parcelhub partnered with Statista to analyse the changes in shopping habits and their impact on parcel deliveries in the UK.

Contents Overview:

The growth of online shopping Staying on the right track The COVID-19 effect Consumer drivers Part and parcel of the service Benefits of parcel tracking Delivering the goods How can Parcelhub help?

Download Infographic: The Importance of Parcel Tracking

The Growth of Online Shopping

The last 12 months have created more need for change in our consumer buying habits, with many high street stores needing to stay closed and consumers staying home more to keep each other safe. The number of digital buyers worldwide had increased each year and in response to the pandemic, many traditional retailers switched their strategies to e-Commerce operations, to continue to provide goods and services, 2020 saw 84% of the UK population shopping online. This equates to 57million users buying goods online, and this behaviour is here to stay, with a projected 59million users by the end of 2021.

^{Users are shown in millions.}

^{Source: Statista (Forecast adjusted for the expected impact of COVID-19), November 2020}

Staying on the Right Track

Over 2.8 billion parcels were sent in the UK alone in the last financial year.

The figure has increased dramatically to this point in recent years, and so have our expectations of courier services.

volumes of packages shipped in the UK from 2013 to 2020 (in billions) 

^{Source: Statista (2020)}

The COVID-19 Effect

As the world reacted to Covid-19, many purchases usually made offline suddenly moved online, for a range of goods across multiple sectors. Agile companies worldwide had to react and rethink their offering radically, in a new world.

When Statista ran its "COVID-19 Barometer 2020" survey the following countries saw a shift to online instead of offline purchasing due to the pandemic.

‘I have shifted to online purchases’

_{Source Statista:¹Survey period March 23, 2020 - May 3, 2020}

"Have you deliberately purchased any of these products or services online instead of offline because of the COVID-19 / Corona pandemic?"

^{*hand sanitiser, toilet paper. Sources: Statista Survey "COVID-19 Barometer 2020"; Survey period March 23, 2020 - May 10, 2020. Base: n=19,259, all respondents}

What are Some of the Other Consumer Drivers Impacting Change?

65% of consumers prefer the option to have items delivered directly to their homes with 62% favouring lower prices.

^{Source: Statista Global Consumer Survey - 2020 Update 1 as of November 2020}

Part and Parcel of the Service

As consumers, we are ordering more items online than ever before. For more than 7 out of 10 of us, parcel tracking for our online orders improves our confidence in making purchases online.

But what factors are important to consumers when receiving a delivery?

What Are the Benefits of Parcel Tracking?

• Transparency and reassurance for your customers 
• Reduction of customer enquiries relating to parcel tracking
• More control with inflight updates for delivery estimates and changes 

As a business, it can be costly and time-consuming for your customer service department to support parcel tracking queries. With 14% of customers stating poor service as a reason to stop buying from a brand, it is worth looking at tracked parcel delivery options for your goods to give your customers more control and minimise customer service queries. 

​​​​​Parcel tracking offers more transparency and reassurance for your customers, allowing them to review their shipment notifications before contacting you. In most cases, the parcel tracking consignment notification details will allow the customer to know whether the item has left the warehouse, where it is within the delivery process, and the estimated delivery date and time. Customers feel more informed when a business sends goods and items with parcel tracking.

Delivering the Goods

Support the conversion from online visitor to online customer and give relevant delivery options at the checkout.

Parcel tracking and delivery options can influence a customer's decision, to make a purchase.

Why Choose Parcelhub for Your Tracked Parcel Deliveries

Parcelhub, part of The Whistl Group, is the leading parcel carrier management specialist, delivering more choice and support for your e-commerce business. With a wide range of carefully selected delivery carrier partners, we ensure your customers have flexible delivery options for their purchases.

With Parcelhub, you can provide more transparency to your customers with parcel tracking options, including 24-hour and 48-hour delivery windows and options for delivery diversions. With Parcelhub, your customers will have more control over their deliveries.