Do online retailers have sufficient information on the delivery services potentially available to them? Do they have sufficient choice in and availability of delivery solutions of the quality consumers wish for?

National postal operators co-operate closely with online retailers, both multinationals and SMEs, and online retailers have a wide variety of delivery solutions to choose from. Each EU country has on average 3.44 operators: with the exception of Cyprus and Malta, all other countries have at least 2 operators. 9 out of 12 parcel delivery operators in the UK deliver cross-border.

National postal operators also actively help retailers to sell online by devising innovative solutions: PostNL, Deutsche Post and PostNord are three examples of operators who have developed software solutions e-retailers can integrate into their web shops in order to ensure easy access by shoppers to the relevant delivery information.

Recognising how delivery standards affect the business of online retailers, National postal operators have put in place a series of solutions to achieve a higher level of customer satisfaction:

  • Value-added services that allow e-shoppers to predict the arrival of their parcel by the minute or to re-arrange the delivery of their parcel for another date or to another address;
  • Alternative delivery points such as parcel lockers or the nearest convenient store;
  • Track and trace (web-based or app-based) and electronic notifications (by email or SMS).