The Dispatch: September 2023
Welcome back to the September edition of the Doddle Dispatch newsletter. This month, returns are a predominant focus as major merchants make their moves to tweak their returns policies and recoup some costs. Also this month, multiple milestones for European out-of-home networks as Swipbox and DHL release figures for locker production and PUDO points. Plus, we have analysis on what consumers really think of parcel lockers, why carriers could benefit from a broader 'returns management' approach to reverse logistics, and how logistics providers are tackling failed deliveries.
Join us at Leaders in Logistics Last Mile, held in Twickenham stadium in southwest London on October 11th. Doddle's Chief Strategy Officer, Bob Griffiths, will be delivering a keynote on the potential for carriers to help merchants overcome their returns challenges, and we're also hosting an exclusive roundtable on how future technologies will reshape how businesses approach ecommerce returns and reverse logistics.
Do they want to use them? Well, home delivery remains a preference in most markets, most of the time. But how many consumers are aware of the existence of parcel lockers, much less the benefits and incentives to use them? We look at consumer perceptions of APMs, and how carriers and merchants can drive awareness and adoption.
Physically handling parcels is of course essential to helping merchants deal with ecommerce returns. But logistics providers have an opportunity to go further - and their merchant customers want their support to mean more than shipping packages.
H&M introduced a ￡1.99 fee for all UK online returns, before having to clarify that online returns dropped off in-store would remain free. ASOS had been a prominent holdout against the return charge trend, but as we predicted in February, the blanket free returns policy has now been changed, in line with the tweaks to delivery pricing and other profitability measures.
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ASOS shoppers can still return for free within 14 days (incentivising them to get items back faster so they can be resold sooner) but will be charged between 14 and 28 days after purchase.
Failed first-time deliveries are costly for retailers, carriers and the environment - and obviously they're no good for consumers either. Reducing failed delivery rates is a win for all parties, but how are logistics businesses able to achieve that goal? One key opportunity is in harnessing existing data to give customers a better idea of when packages will be delivered. Carriers are also developing better leave-safe options, and even reminding parcel receivers that if they're not at home, it will be both inconvenient for them and bad for the planet.
The Future of Posts survey finds that while 51% of posts are struggling with growing parcel volumes, the rest see no growth or reduced volumes. At the same time, falling mail volume is now a priority issue for more than three quarters of posts.
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