UK courier, express delivery market hit £12.6 bn in 2018

25 May '19

2 min read

Pic: Mintel

British customers’ love of online shopping is pushing the courier and express delivery market into a double digit growth, according to latest research by Mintel Group, a private London-based market research firm. Courier and express delivery sales increased by 12 per cent last year to reach £12.6 billion, thereby achieving a growth of 62 per cent after 2014.

Meanwhile, volume sales increased by 14per cent alone in 2018 and 66 per cent between 2014 and 2018. Last year, British consumers sent 3.65 billion packages, up from 3.2 billion in 2017, according to a Mintel press release.

The market for courier and express delivery is expected to continue to post first-class sales over the next five years. Volumes are forecast to maintain double-digit yearly growth, rising by 54 per cent between 2019 and 2023, further surpassing value sales, which are forecast to grow by 42 per cent over the same five year period.

Cost (53 per cent), ease of finding products online (51 per cent) and greater variety (39 per cent) are the top three reasons why Brits are choosing to have products delivered as opposed to shopping in-store. Almost one in ten (8 per cent) consumers are encouraged to order online because they are part of an unlimited delivery subscription.

According to Mintel research, some 81 per cent of British consumers used courier services in the six months to February 2019. What is more, nearly a fifth (18 per cent) of users say they have used these services more in the year to February 2019 than the previous 12 months, highlighting the growing popularity of these services.

Speed is of the essence for the four in ten (39 per cent) consumers who received their most recent parcel either the same day or the day after the product was ordered. But despite increased availability of express delivery, over half (56 per cent) of consumers say that the last parcel they received arrived more than a day after the product was ordered. (DS)

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