UK consumers willing to take action for a greener future

9 June 2021, London – UK consumers are willing to compromise on online purchases and delivery demands, but only if it creates a more sustainable environment, according to new data. Two-thirds are willing to wait longer for online deliveries if it results in lower CO2 emissions, while 61% already prefer to order locally in order to reduce their carbon footprint. 62% would opt for home delivery alternatives if the online retailer provided more info on its emissions. Seven out of 10 believed there should be a trustmark or quality assurance for delivery emissions transparency. 64% said they would be willing to pick up a parcel themselves if it made the delivery process more sustainable, with one in five willing to walk up to 5km to collect parcels. The survey of 1,000 UK consumers, released by e-commerce shipping platform Sendcloud, also found 43% of consumers feel guilty about the environment when ordering online - 48% when ordering items outside of Europe.  An overwhelming majority (94%) said sustainability is an important factor to them when shopping online. The findings are backed up by a similar report which found 57% of UK online shoppers think the rise of online shopping is a problem for the environment. “These findings show that consumers understand the environmental impact of their purchases, and are willing to take drastic steps in order to create a more sustainable industry,” said Rob van den Heuvel, CEO and Co-founder at Sendcloud.  “Although there is still a lot of work to be done, we are slowly but surely going green. Deliveries by electric vehicles and bicycles are taking place in parts of the UK now, and technology that provides consumers with exact times of delivery and more flexible options is almost commonplace. By clearly communicating the environmental impact of delivery options in the checkout, retailers can give consumers the final push to choose green over fast and free delivery.”

About Sendcloud

Sendcloud is an all-in-one shipping platform for e-commerce businesses that want to scale. It is our mission to empower online retailers to compete by optimising the full shipping journey from checkout to returns. Our solution turns e-commerce logistics from a bottleneck into an accelerator, making shipping a competitive advantage. Founded in the Netherlands in 2012, Sendcloud has quickly become one of the fastest growing scale-ups and leading shipping solutions in Europe, with more than 23,000 customers across the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Austria. Customers range from small to enterprise-sized online retailers and in industries from fashion and electronics to food & drink.