Swiss online shoppers are increasingly annoyed by complex processes and a lack of information

Buchs, 14 May 2024. Swiss people are shopping online more and more frequently. At the same time, dissatisfaction with the online shops, delivery services and returns is on the rise. DPD’s regular E-Shopper Barometer shows this paradoxical development. Innovations in online retail, from flexible time windows and real-time information to artificial intelligence, are raising customer expectations.

Online retail in Switzerland is growing steadily, unlike in most European countries. In 2023, private Swiss online shoppers received an average of 5.2 parcels per month. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, when working from home was mandatory in many places, the figure was 4.8 parcels per capita. Accordingly, the return to physical stores did not take place at the expense of online retail.

However, this increase in orders does not mean that shoppers find the online shopping experience more convenient than before. The DPD survey reveals that the trend is actually the opposite: the longer online shoppers find the purchase, delivery and returns processes, the more negative their rating will be. This trend can be seen in Europe in general, but is very pronounced in Switzerland.

When the payment process never ends and the delivery driver does not ring the bell
The number of regular online shoppers who described their last purchase as ‘easy’ decreased from 70 % in 2019 to 41 % in 2023. Buyers found the many intermediate steps leading to completion, the complicated payment process, the lack of support and the need to open an account difficult.

Purchasers are also finding the delivery process increasingly complex, with the satisfaction rate dropping from 79 % to 43 %. The ‘dissatisfied’ were missing information about the status of the parcel or were annoyed by delivery drivers who left parcels on their doorstep without ringing the doorbell.

The proportion of people who find returning a parcel ‘easy’ has also fallen steadily: the figure was 62 % in 2019 and only 33 % last year. Respondents criticised the process as laborious and poorly explained, and the drop-off point was said to be too far away. The cost of returning the goods is also a significant factor, albeit not as significant as the time the process takes.

Despite increasing frustration with the returns process, returns have increased significantly over the past five years. More than four out of ten regular online shoppers said they returned the last parcel they received – three times more than five years ago. It is not possible to draw conclusions about all the parcels sent in Switzerland from this result, as the survey focuses on the target group of private individuals who often make purchases on the Internet. However, the E-Shopper Barometer clearly shows that in Switzerland, returns of online purchases remain at the top of the European rankings.

Parcel service providers are facing higher expectations
Declining satisfaction rates do not necessarily indicate a deterioration in services. The E-Shopper Barometer shows that consumer expectations are constantly increasing. Three quarters of regular online shoppers want a logistically challenging one-hour delivery window for their orders. A few years ago, the figure was two-thirds. Real-time delivery status updates and orders that do not require a customer to log in are also at the top of the wish list.

‘A key finding from the E-Shopper Barometer is that satisfaction with the online shopping experience has fallen in recent years, even though e-commerce volumes are increasing. Our interpretation is that consumer expectations have increased with the transformation of logistics, digitalisation and even AI tools. For parcel service providers, this means that just-in-time delivery, real-time delivery updates and a network of pick-up and drop-off points that are close to customers are expected as a matter of course. At DPD, we invest a lot in our ability to anticipate these trends. Following the Customer Relation Award in Zurich and the title of European Customer Champions in Berlin, this year we received the Geopost Excellence Award in London for our AI program Happiness@DPD. This makes us proud and shows that we are heading in the right direction,’ says Tilmann Schultze, CEO of DPD Switzerland.

About the DPD / Geopost E-Shopper Barometer
24'233 interviews were conducted in 23 European countries between 31 May and 19 July 2023 for the study on behalf of the Geopost Group, to which DPD Switzerland belongs. In Switzerland, 1'009 people took part in the survey. The barometer focuses on ‘regular online shoppers’: people aged 18 to 70 who make at least one online purchase every month.

About DPD Switzerland
DPD Switzerland is one of the leading private express and parcel service providers in Switzerland and, with its 1'200 employees and drivers, delivers over 24 million parcels to businesses and private individuals per year. Based in Buchs in Zurich, the company has 14 locations and 440 DPD Pickup parcelshops in Switzerland and bordering areas in other countries. DPD Switzerland is part of Geopost.
https://www.dpd.com/ch/en/