Online delivery volumes defy expectations in July

Online retail parcel delivery order volumes were up 15.2% year-on-year in July, according to the latest data from the IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index.

The association said usually delivery growth plateaus during summer as people tend to go abroad, but as people stayed at home due to the hot weather it reflected positively in the delivery index, which was up 2.6% month-on-month in July.

The usage of specified and next-day services remained at an all-time high in July, accounting for 36.5% of all online orders. The percentage of successful on-time deliveries remained unchanged at 90%.

The average order value in July was above its relative position in recent years, up 4.6% against July 2017, with the continued hot weather likely to have been a key contributing factor. Most of this year-on-year performance is driven by purchases made by UK-based shoppers, although the strength of the euro has kept European values up too.

Andrew Starkey, head of e-logistics at IMRG, said: “2018 continues to be a solid year for online delivery growth. There have been a number of recent economic indicators that suggest consumer confidence is decreasing and that shoppers are feeling the pinch as we have moved into the third quarter, but there were some more positive findings this month in that the average order value was the highest ever recorded in the index for the month of July.

“With European shoppers apparently taking advantage of the strength of the euro against sterling, and UK shoppers wanting to make the most of the hot summer, it’s only the on-time delivery rate that remains a concern over the coming months as we approach the peak shopping season.”