Product categories with ups and downs

During the pandemic, fashion was one of the industry sectors in which overall demand decreased the most. This year the wind has changed for the category as a whole: there has been good growth for physical stores, but e-commerce has lost ground. During the second quarter, online growth amounted to 1 percent. Pharmacy retail is another of the few industries that showed positive growth at 4 percent in Q2. Online pharmacies have changed consumer behavior in the pharmacy industry. Nowadays, instead of medicine, the products ordered from online pharmacies belong to categories like beauty and health. This means that online pharmacies have come to resemble marketplaces rather than traditional pharmacies.

The right delivery method is crucial for customers

Having the right selection of delivery options is important for consumers. 37 percent state that they have failed to complete a purchase because the desired delivery option was not available. 46 percent of the consumers had their most recent online purchase delivered to a distribution point, but only 26 percent state they would have chosen this option if given a choice.

Interest in parcel lockers has increased rapidly over the last few years

E-commerce consumers’ interest in parcel lockers has increased steadily in recent years, while interest in distribution points has decreased. With generous opening hours and less risk of having to stand in line, parcel lockers are considered to be a flexible delivery option which more and more consumers will want to use.