Pitney Bowes Survey: As Retailers Expand Curbside Pickup Options, 64% of Consumers Still Prefer At-Home Delivery
February 23 2022 - 9:30AM
Business Wire
Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI), a global shipping and mailing company
that provides technology, logistics, and financial services, today
released new findings from its BOXpoll consumer surveys as the end
of the peak holiday shipping and returns season coincides with high
inflation, continued supply chain pressures, and most U.S. states
lifting mask mandates and COVID-19 restrictions. As consumers
continue to adapt, some trends are beginning to emerge – including
a renewed affinity for at-home delivery.
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As retailers expand curbside pickup
options, 64% of consumers still prefer at-home delivery. (Graphic:
Business Wire)
One of the hallmarks of the retail industry’s response to
COVID-19 has been the proliferation of curbside pickup, which rose
drastically from 7% in December 2019 to 44% by August 2020.
Curbside pickup is an attractive option for many omnichannel
retailers, allowing them to shift the cost and responsibility of
final-mile delivery directly to consumers. During the height of the
pandemic, and even the peak holiday shopping season, many consumers
were happy to opt for curbside pickup to ensure timely receipt of
their goods and to avoid being exposed to COVID-19 in crowded
stores.
However, at-home delivery remains king for shoppers. According
to a recent BOXpoll survey, when it comes to how consumers want to
collect their items, 64% prefer home delivery, while just 23%
prefer curbside pickup when given a choice between the two options
(12% had no opinion). The only category for which consumers
preferred curbside pickup over home delivery was groceries (44% vs.
39%). In all other categories, no more than 25% of consumers
preferred curbside pickup.
“While consumers like curbside pickup for time-sensitive or
bulky items, our research found that nearly two-thirds of consumers
will generally choose home delivery over curbside pickup, despite
having to wait,” said Vijay Ramachandran, VP Market Strategy for
Global Ecommerce at Pitney Bowes. “For digitally native brands and
retailers without the ability to offer curbside, this creates an
opportunity to compete with large-format chains.”
Baby Boomers have an especially strong preference for home
delivery. Almost three-quarters of the demographic (73%) prefer
delivery over curbside, and there was a 35% difference between
those who are much more likely (54%) and those who are somewhat
more likely (19%) to choose delivery.
The two factors that overwhelmingly drive a choice for home
delivery over curbside pickup are free shipping and consumers
becoming more flexible with delivery times. More than half (64%) of
shoppers say that free delivery on home shipping influences their
decision to use it instead of curbside pickup. Conversely, just 38%
of consumers would opt for curbside pickup for online purchases
(other than groceries) as a way to receive their items without
paying for shipping. Thirty-seven percent of consumers would opt
for curbside pickup to receive their item faster.
These findings are consistent with previous BOXpoll surveys that
found nearly three-quarters of shoppers prioritize cost over
delivery speed.
Understanding the significant preference toward at-home delivery
over other methods, Pitney Bowes asked consumers about their
preferences towards estimated delivery dates provided by retailers.
Surprisingly, 59% of all shoppers report that early deliveries are
an inconvenience. The top two reasons consumers cited were “not
being home on the day of delivery” and “being uncomfortable with
deliveries sitting out.”
The survey also revealed that 90% of shoppers say they will
contact customer care if their online order doesn’t arrive on the
date promised but will give an average grace period of 3 days
before doing so. The presentation of delivery days also proved to
be important to consumers. Small changes in format such as
estimated number of days (“2 days”) slightly beat an estimated date
(“February 24”), which is even more preferred than an estimated day
of the week, like “Thursday.”
Methodology
The BOXpoll® consumer survey by Pitney Bowes is a weekly
consumer survey on current events, culture and ecommerce logistics.
Morning Consult conducts weekly polls on behalf of Pitney Bowes
among a national sample of more than 2,000 online shoppers. The
results included in this press release are extracted from surveys
conducted over the past month. The interviews were conducted
online, and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample
of adults based on age, educational attainment, gender, race, and
region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/-
2 percentage points. Visit www.pitneybowes.com/boxpoll for the
latest BOXpoll findings.
About Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) is a global shipping and mailing company
that provides technology, logistics, and financial services to more
than 90 percent of the Fortune 500. Small business, retail,
enterprise, and government clients around the world rely on Pitney
Bowes to remove the complexity of sending mail and parcels. For the
latest news, corporate announcements and financial results visit
https://www.pitneybowes.com/us/newsroom.html. For additional
information, visit Pitney Bowes at www.pitneybowes.com.
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Brett Cody Pitney Bowes (203) 218-1187 brett.cody@pb.com
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