Delivery firms hold back e-commerce

More and more companies are getting involved in e-commerce but are often failing to deliver -- quite literally -- according to a report from analyst Verdict.

According to its research, a quarter of the 2000 online customers surveyed were not confident about having goods delivered to their homes and workplaces, preferring to buy instore rather than online. A third want to see lower delivery costs, with 18 percent concerned about the length of time goods take to be delivered and 17 percent wanting more flexible delivery times.

Most Web firms currently outsource their deliveries and, according to marketing director for Verdict Michael Godliman, delivery companies are not yet adapting to the e-commerce world. "They are still delivering weekdays between 8am and 6pm, which means you have to take a day off work to collect something. That is ridiculous," he says. "Web companies need to put pressure on delivery companies to upgrade their services to the Internet age."

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