Shoppers plan to finish their online holiday shopping early this year to ensure their gifts arrive on time, according to new research from Pitney Bowes.
Nearly half (49%) of the U.S. consumers who plan to shop online this holiday season said they will do so earlier. The primary reason for this decision (63%) is to ensure packages are delivered before their celebrations with friends and family.
Up to one third (33%) of shoppers said they plan to pay more attention to shipping this year versus last year. They are doing so by tracking packages once or twice (33%), three to five times (21%) or even six or more times (23%).
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The second annual Pitney Bowes Holiday Shipping Survey, which was conducted by ORC International, includes insights from approximately 1,000 U.S. consumers.
“Last year, holiday shipping challenges stemmed from a perfect storm of record-breaking weather combined with over-promises to deliver orders on time and a last-minute shipping surge,” said Christoph Stehmann, President of e-Commerce and Shipping Solutions at Pitney Bowes. “To help capture holiday sales this year and meet customer expectations, retailers should prepare well in advance for the unexpected, and provide real-time visibility on shipping packages and reliable delivery estimates.”
Consumers’ decision to purchase holiday gifts earlier could be inspired by the fact that they prefer free shipping to fast shipping. In fact, 82% of respondents said free five-to-seven-day shipping is more valuable to them than having products delivered in one or two business days for an additional fee.
The consumers who find fast shipping more attractive than free shipping, however, said they would pay an average of $8.50 for two-day delivery. Fewer (19%) respondents said they’d be willing to pay more than $10 for faster shipping.
