Market Trends of United Kingdom Domestic Courier, Express, and Parcel (CEP) Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the UK CEP Market according to our research experts:
Increasing E-commerce Penetration is Anticipated to Drive the Market
E-commerce is the fastest-growing retail sector in the UK, with millions of consumers finding their favorite products at thousands of online retailers and growing at an annual rate of more than 50%. E-commerce penetration in the UK is on the rise. The trend has been mainly driven by customers' desire to have access to more products and services online.
Also, an increase in internet connections and mobile services that enable more people to get online are some of the main factors that have accelerated this growth. The rising penetration of e-commerce represents a significant opportunity for retailers and brands looking to expand product lines and increase revenues.
Companies are investing more in marketing, but also in technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning that can help them optimize their marketing arsenals and source new customers in new ways. The rise of e-commerce has transformed the way people buy products. With 81% satisfaction with online shopping, more than half of all shoppers are growing frustrated by the prices at traditional brick-and-mortar retail stores.
In the UK, e-commerce sales are anticipated to reach USD 150 billion in 2022. Additionally, when it comes to the number of consumers that shop online, Industry Sources projects that in 2025, there will be 58.4 million e-commerce users in the UK. With a high penetration rate of internet commerce (often known as "e-commerce") and an anticipated increase to 84.2% by 2025, the United Kingdom is one of the world's early adopters. With growing internet shopping in recent years, the CEP sector has been registering numerous new enterprises joining the market.
British internet shoppers are accustomed to online shopping practices because the UK is a global leader in e-commerce. The nation's e-commerce sector is currently rated third in the world's online retail market, only behind China and the US. Its predicted GBP 693 billion (USD 832.64 billion) in total e-commerce sales in 2021 exceeded the value of the combined e-commerce markets of France and Germany.
In the UK, a large number of online sales are made through mobile apps. Six out of ten internet purchases are made with mobile devices. Additionally, given that 45% of transactions in 2021 were made through mobile apps, it appears that they are becoming more popular among online shoppers.
Increase in Volume of Parcel Shipments
Deliveries are now being delayed, and sustainability issues have been raised as a result of rising parcel quantities and the continued use of the door-to-door delivery strategy in the UK. If the door-to-door delivery approach is kept up, there will be 1.5 times as many delivery cars on London's streets by 2026 as there are now. Retailers must consider other delivery strategies that can cut down on traffic jams and vehicle kilometers traveled, such as deliveries to parcel lockers, pickup locations, and even neighbors' houses.
In the UK, there will be 4.1 billion packages transported in 2021. Consumer aspirations for better, quicker deliveries are one of the difficulties businesses confront as a result of rising shipment volumes.
In the first few months of 2020, COVID-19 started to affect domestic parcel volumes in the United Kingdom. The greater effects on the postal industry and customers, however, only became clear in the first quarter of 2020-21.
Due to stores temporarily closing, online shopping grew by leaps and bounds, which increased the need for parcel delivery services.Some package companies are expanding their delivery networks, which is creating new jobs. This will continue through the second half of 2020.
The epidemic has also shown how important the postal service is in providing essential services to customers, like delivering and picking up COVID-19 testing kits and helping the government, the NHS, and banks talk to each other.
