Waiting for delivery costs business £1.6bn

14/07/2008

Businesses are losing £1.6bn a year to workers waiting for parcel deliveries, a survey has found.

The research, by online shopping search engine Kelkoo, found that on average, workers take 1.5 days off to sit at home and wait for deliveries.

Just under half of those questioned said they had taken time off work to wait for a delivery, while more than 20% had lied to their employer about why they had been absent.

More than a third of women said a doctor’s appointment, sickness, or ‘personal problems’ were most likely to be their excuse, while men were more likely than women to cite working from home. More than 40% of women said they would tell the truth about their absence, compared to just 35% of men.

More than eight in ten respondents to the survey said one of their biggest frustrations is non-delivery, while unclear delivery costs were a sore point for almost 20%, and 10% said they had experienced late deliveries.

Significantly, more than nine in ten consumers said they would be ‘unlikely’ to place another order with a retailer which had failed to deliver goods.

Bruce Fair, managing director of Kelkoo UK said giving people an exact delivery time could help to minimise the impact on employees’ working day.

“Shoppers are increasingly seeking out options to minimise the impact on their working, day with many people also choosing to have smaller items delivered to the office,” he said.