Delivery options

Historic Delivery Standards

In the past, catalogue retailers, with business models
based on the wide availability of credit, dominated
the home delivery market. These retailers tended to
attract consumers who were cash poor and time rich
and their customers were relatively undemanding
when it came to the delivery standards they found
acceptable.
According to MetaPack’s Delivery Excellence Survey
of 130 websites, many online retailers have yet to
move away from delivery services that belong to
the catalogue era and many still offer very limited
options that place the emphasise on low-cost over
convenience:
Mosaic defines 11 UK Lifestyle groups based on a
number of criteria, including age, location, family
status, income and employment. These groups
reflect the breadth of the population from Urban
Intelligence” (students with time but less money) to
“Symbols of Success” (both partners working, with
money but less time). These lifestyle groups can then
be plotted against these two key dimensions of time
and wealth, creating four distinct segments.
Time / Wealth / Segment Value
Rich
Urbun
Intelligence
Suburban
Comfort
Time

Symbols of
Success
• 60% of retailers have only one delivery option, Ties of Community

and a further 20% have just two

Happy Families
Poor
• The most common service is an unspecified Poor
Wealth Rich
Source: Mosaic, Hitwise, MetaPack Analysis
delivery window such as “3 to 5 working days”

• Only 1 in 10 retailers allow the customer to
choose a date for delivery
However, recent analysis has shown that two thirds
of online expenditure is by people who are cash rich
and time poor. Although this segment is now well
serviced by online grocers, insufficient convenient
delivery options are available for customers wishing
to make non-food purchases online.
In order to meet the needs of the widest range of
customers, the range of delivery services offered by
online retailers should normally include economy
services with wide time windows, premium services
with narrow time windows, and options such as
nominated day, morning, evening and weekend
delivery. The shopper is then more likely to find a
delivery option that matches their lifestyle. This
increases the likelihood of first time delivery success.

Services Per Segment

Rich

2-3 Day Service Next Day Delivery

Time

Premium Service
(Named Day, Time slots,
Evening, Saturday)

Poor
Poor Rich
Wealth
Source: Hitwise, Mosaic, MetaPack Analysis

For more information call 0207 843 6720 or visit www.metapack.com

Crafting the Perfect Delivery Proposition
Creating a viable delivery proposition requires three factors to be carefully balanced –convenience for the customer,
margins for the retailer and simplicity. Using MetaPack DMS, retailers are able to balance all 3 of these:

• DMS CarrierLink enables retailers to use a range of carriers giving a greater number of convenient options

• DMS ServiceLink presents these to the web front end allowing customers to choose a convenient option in a
simple automated menu

• DMS CarrierLink can then selects the most cost effective carrier to protect retailer margins

Example for best practice delivery options (prices are illustrative):

Select a Day Next 7 Days >

Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri sat Sun
Available Services 31 / 01 01 / 02 02 / 02 03 / 02 04 / 02 05 / 02 06 / 02
All Day: Mon-Fri
9am – 5pm
£5 £4 £4 £4 £4 X X

Morning: 9am – 12pm X £8 £8 £8 £8 £10 X

Evening: 5pm – 8pm X £8 £8 £8 £8 X X

Standard Service
3-5 Working days FREE X X
Collect at a location that’s convenient for you Select
Local Collect Delivery Charge: £4 Location

MetaPack Ltd The Lightwell 12/16 Laystall Street London EC1R 4PF
t +44 (0)20 7843 6720 f +44 (0)20 7843 6721 www.metapack.com MetaPack