Stamford, Conn. — Nearly half of Americans (49 percent) plan to shop online earlier for gifts this holiday season, with 63 percent citing concern over late deliveries, a survey by Pitney Bowes shows.
“Last year, holiday shipping challenges stemmed from a perfect storm of record-breaking weather combined with over-promises to deliver orders on time and a last-minute shipping surge,” said Christoph Stehmann, president of the company’s e-commerce and shipping solutions unit. “To help capture holiday sales this year and meet customer expectations, retailers should prepare well in advance for the unexpected, and provide real-time visibility on shipping packages and reliable delivery estimates.”
Overall, 70 percent of Americans consider shipping options to be an important factor in the shopping experience, compared with 66 percent in 2013. Also, one-third of respondents said they plan to pay more attention to shipping this year vs. last year, the survey showed.
The poll of 1,000 adults was conducted for Pitney Bowes by ORC International in August.
