Half of online shoppers did not receive their package
Delivery services and item insurance
Clutch, B2B ratings and reviews firm, surveyed online shoppers and found that more than half (51 percent) say they did not receive at least one package they ordered online in the past six months.
Sixteen percent (16%) of the packages shoppers did not receive were stolen after delivery, while another 29 percent of consumers aren’t sure why their package never arrived. Among those who did not receive a package, 16 percent say the package was stolen. Nearly one-third (29 percent) aren’t sure why their package was never delivered.
The majority of consumers should re-evaluate the security of where their packages are typically delivered. More than half of online shoppers (57 percent) say their packages are usually left in an outdoors, unsecured area such as a front porch.
Most lost packages disappear in the mail
The largest percentage of missing packages (32 percent) disappear in a more mundane way — in the mail.
The United States Postal Service handles 484.4 million pieces of mail every day. Private delivery services carry high volumes of packages, too: FedEx handles 6.2 million packages, and UPS handles 20.7 million packages and documents daily. With such a high volume of deliveries, it’s easy to see how some parcels disappear.
People should pay special attention to shipping labels on packages to ensure a safe delivery. “The top two reasons packages get ‘lost’ in the mail are due to the wrong address on the shipping label, followed by [a] missing shipping label,” said Karan Singh, Principal at Kersch Partners, a business management consulting firm that offers supply chain and consumer packaging consulting.
What customers and businesses can do regarding parcels lost in the mail depends heavily on the delivery service and if the item was insured.
“If the package was insured, the consumer can file a claim,” Singh said. “If not, the majority of delivery service providers assume no liability for lost packages sent by a third-party retailer.” Instead, any refunds or new shipments must be negotiated between the retailer and the customer.
Clutch’s survey included 528 U.S. respondents who ordered an item online within the past six months.
channels: online trading, delivery
