Failed first time deliveries expected to cost etailers £851m this year

According to research conducted by IMRG and supported by Blackbay, the amount represents a 7.5% increase on 2010, the last time the research was conducted.

The report found that the uplift was in part due to the increasing popularity of online shopping.

Rearranged deliveries is set to be the biggest area of loss for the sector, with an estimated £235m expected to be wasted this year.

Andrew Starkey, head of e-logistics at IMRG, said: “The actual fulfilment of an online order represents the final hurdle for retailers and a negative experience at that point provides the impression that lasts.

“As these figures demonstrate, for retailers it is not just brand reputation that is impacted when a delivery is missed but the associated costs of that failure can also be significant.”