The provision of delivery information online: a missed opportunity

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate Western and Central European consumers and web retailers with respect to the importance and accessibility of delivery information online prior to purchase. Design/methodology/approach – To investigate the importance and accessibility of delivery information online, a survey was conducted of 715 internet consumers from the UK, Hungary and the Czech Republic to explore how important they rate online delivery information. In addition to this, retailing web sites from leading retailers in the UK, Hungary and the Czech Republic were content analysed in order to establish the extent to which they provided online delivery information. Findings – The research identifies that consumers rate delivery pricing guides, delivery guarantees and delivery schedules as the most important delivery information they expect online prior to purchase. However, content analysis of retailer web sites reveals that many retailers do not adequately provide information about how they “guarantee product delivery”. Practical implications – It is recommended here that prior to purchase online retailers should make detailed delivery information more accessible to consumers (e.g. pricing guides, timing schedules, etc.) and should consider using delivery service guarantees to assure consumers of delivery service standards and retailer responsibilities. Originality/value – This paper makes a decisive contribution to e‐shopping behaviour and online retailing by providing insight into why visits to retailing web sites may not be followed up by purchase. This insight results from an examination of an often neglected area of the online buying process, namely “order delivery and fulfilment”. By examining the expectations of e‐consumers across Europe it investigates the role access to delivery information can have in managing customer delivery service expectations and in building trust in online retailers.