In the world of online ordering and shipping, faster delivery is making a bit of a comeback.
According to the ninth-annual survey of more than 1,000 online shoppers surveyed by Ryder System Inc. (NYSE: R), 29% of respondents said they expected their online orders to arrive in one to two days. This compares to 21% in 2022, a period of more frequent supply chain disruptions when more customers had shifted their delivery expectations to three to four days.
At the same time, 60% of online shoppers expected orders to arrive in three to four days. That was down from 64% in 2022, according to the Ryder survey, which was conducted in February.
In addition, 64% of respondents said that free shipping plays the biggest role in deciding where they make online purchases. About 71% said they added more items to their shopping carts in order to qualify for free shipping, the survey found.
About 80% of consumers said they would not proceed with an online purchase if shipping fees exceeded the value of their order. About 81% reported abandoning their carts if hit with unexpected shipping costs.
About 51% of respondents reported making fewer overall purchases, while 49% reported doing more comparison shopping. Both trends were by-products of higher inflation levels affecting consumer buying behavior, Ryder said.
About 65% of respondents said that so-called returnless refunds — in which customers get full refunds without being required to return unwanted items — would encourage them to shop with a brand again. That was a 14% increase from 2022 levels. About 45% said they’d be willing to donate unwanted items through returnless refunds.
About 71% said they would wait longer to receive an online order in the interest of reducing environmental impact, the survey found.
The desire for faster shipping times and free deliveries was not confined to the younger age demographic normally associated with such attitudes. Approximately 87% of respondents ranged from 30 years of age to over 65 years old.
“This year’s data shows consumers are more cost-conscious, consistently prioritizing savings with free shipping, free returns and comparison shopping,” said Jeff Wolpov, senior vice president of e-commerce solutions for Ryder, in a statement. “For savvy merchants, this presents an opportunity to provide customers with options to save in one area while creating opportunities to shift spending to another, such as increasing order value with free shipping threshold or converting returns into new orders with smart returns management.”
The study was initiated in 2015 by Dotcom Distribution, which Ryder acquired in November 2022. Ryder assumed ownership of the survey after the acquisition.
(Correction: The year of the Ryder acquisition of Dotcom Distribution was erroneously reported as November 2002. It was November 2022).