Nearly 60% consumers to not shop online this festive season; blames delivery delays & returns complexities

Going in the reverse direction of the ongoing e-commerce wave, nearly 60 per cent of consumers will not shop online this festive season due to anticipated delivery delays and returns headaches. A survey of 1,000 respondents by FarEye revealed the current shopping habits and festive season purchase plans of consumers and also last-mile delivery pain points. “In order to see sales increase during festive season, retailers must improve the delivery experience, from the first click to order, through to delivery to consumers’ doorsteps,” said Gautam Kumar, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, FarEye.

The festive season in India that peaks ahead of Diwali and runs through December, has made industry leaders project around 28 per cent higher online sales as compared to the same period previous year. According to the survey by FarEye, while 41 per cent of the respondents plan to shop from e-commerce sites, nearly 60 per cent will shop offline, due to delivery delays and returns frustrations. Of the total respondents who were surveyed, about 63 per cent are abandoning shopping carts due to poor delivery terms and another 54 per cent are expecting delivery delays during the festive season. “Consumers have become frustrated with challenges associated with getting their deliveries on-time, every time, and don’t want to pay extra for returns, or for faster delivery,” said Gautam Kumar.

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How important are easy returns?

Even as e-commerce deliveries are typically higher during the festive season, returns are high too and 87 per cent consumers consider easy and/ or free online return policies important when making a purchase. During last year’s festive season, more than 50 per cent of consumers reported making online returns. Among the ease of making online returns, 25 per cent consumers preferred free online returns, 22 per cent looked for fast refund/ credit and 20 per cent hoped for home returns pickup, as the top three reasons for a positive returns experience. “Peak seasons like the festive season are some of the most critical periods for retailers to get the consumer delivery – and returns – experience right, or risk losing brand loyalty, or worse, the customer, for good,” said Gautam Kumar.