Logistics
How Streamlining Your Delivery Service Can Boost Sales
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Cathy Carpetta
July 18, 2025
Did you know that approximately 85% of UK consumers shop online, compared to just 50% of Europeans? This highlights how critical a smooth, reliable delivery experience is for British shoppers — and the brands that serve them.
With UK e-commerce sales expected to exceed £120 billion by 2025, a strong online presence is no longer a nice-to-have — it’s a growth driver. But in this context, your delivery service becomes an extension of your brand.
Unlike in-store retail, where staff can fix a poor experience, the logistics journey speaks for itself.
A frictionless post-purchase experience is what separates one-time buyers from long-term customers. A clunky ordering process or unreliable delivery can quickly push shoppers towards competitors.
If you’re looking to optimise your delivery operations, here’s how streamlining can improve your customer experience, reduce costs, and ultimately drive more sales.
1. Win more customers with fast, reliable delivery
Online shopping is only increasing in popularity, and now more than ever, consumers are expecting swift, reliable delivery services.
With many companies now offering next-day delivery or collection at a local pickup point, this is becoming the accepted standard. In fact, research shows that 55% of shoppers would pay extra for same-day delivery, 45% for next-day, and 68% prioritise short delivery windows at checkout.
This is especially important for industries that may be time-sensitive, such as fashion and technology, where customers may be looking for a new item for a certain event or to replace something that’s broken.
Indirectly, poor delivery reduces customer satisfaction and recommendations; no one is going to recommend a company to their friends and family if the delivery success rate is questionable.
Many businesses could benefit from streamlining their delivery operations, to ensure orders arrive quickly, safely, and without delay, which will ultimately boost their customer experience.
Optimising your delivery service could significantly boost the popularity of your business, put you ahead of the competition, and ensure your customers keep coming back.
2. Cut your shipping costs by reducing failed deliveries
Are you dealing with poor management systems, delivery delays or even lost and cancelled packages? Fixing these problematic errors could see you saving money where you would have once had to cover the cost of replacing an item for a customer, as well as the delivery charge.
Research shows that UK retailers lose on average £14.35 per failed delivery, with annual losses for some e-commerce SMEs reaching up to £183,000, not including time spent on customer support and re-shipping efforts.
By focusing on streamlining your delivery operations so they’re more functional, you should face fewer delivery issues, and can focus the time and money that you would have spent on them elsewhere – such as marketing efforts – which will help to drive sales.
Some actions to take include:
- Making sure the courier can handle your shipments. As your business grows, you’ll need to make sure that your chosen partner can handle the number of parcels you need. Don’t be afraid to review your courier provider, or talk to them about the agreement you have with them to ensure your parcels are being treated appropriately.
- Making sure you’ve got a good internal tracking system for parcels. Clear reference numbers, an ability to locate parcels, and regular status updates for both you and the customer as the parcel goes through packing and shipping ensure transparency and build trust in the delivery process.
- A clear process for missed deliveries. Couriers leaving parcels out in the rain, with neighbours without informing the customer, or simply returning the package to you can all cause frustration and potential losses. Giving your customers a chance to choose their preferred option (e.g., redelivery, safe place, collection) is essential.
- Reduce manual amends where possible. Once you get to a certain size, it’s essential to automate your delivery process. Manually typing labels or updating a parcel’s status leaves room for human error — automation can save both cost and time.
By reducing failed deliveries and manual workload, businesses can significantly cut costs and free up resources to invest in growth.
Bigblue Tip: Cut costs and boost satisfaction with Smart Delivery
Most carriers perform well in some areas and poorly in others — but few brands have the data to act on it. Bigblue’s Smart Delivery uses insights from 10M+ parcels and weekly postcode-level reviews to automatically assign the best carrier for every order.
Here’s how it works:
✅ Picks the most reliable and cost-efficient carrier per postcode
🔁 Adjusts weekly based on real KPIs: speed, claim rate, return rate
📉 Keeps claim rates under 1.5% and satisfaction above 93%
🚛 Combines 3+ carrier networks for higher delivery success
🧠 Scales with you via dynamic transport plans and proactive support
The result: better delivery performance, fewer claims, and optimised transport costs — without micromanaging your carrier setup.
3. Reduce WISMO tickets with better parcel tracking
Optimising your tracking and management systems not only benefits your staff, but your customers too. As well as leaving less room for errors, streamlined delivery systems promote transparency, allowing customers to have access to their parcel’s location at any given time.
This matters more than ever: 85% of UK consumers say tracking is important to them, and 85% of global shopper would even stop buying from a retailer after a poor delivery experience.
Offering real-time updates means fewer deliveries are queried or reported missing, reducing misunderstandings and ensuring higher levels of satisfaction for customers.
It also eases the workload of your customer support teams, as many common questions — “Where’s my parcel?”, “Has it shipped?”, “Was it delivered?” — can be answered automatically via the tracking interface.
Customers like to have all the information they need available at the click of a button.
By allowing access to parcel tracking and management features, you hand over more control to your customers, making for a more seamless experience and encouraging them to shop with you again.
Brands that offer branded tracking pages and timely updates can see a significant uptick in repeat purchases and customer trust.
Bigblue Tip: Turn tracking into a self-service support hub.
With Bigblue, brands turn delivery into a growth lever. Brands can embed a FAQ section or a direct “Contact Us” button within the tracking experience. This means customers can instantly find answers or reach support without opening a new tab or writing an email. One merchant using Bigblue saw a 35% drop in “Where is my order?” tickets after activating these features — saving time and improving customer satisfaction.
With consumer spending habits being largely impacted by how accessible their shopping experience is, it’s clear that streamlining your delivery service could go a long way in encouraging more sales — especially when paired with an excellent product, standout branding and effective marketing.
Brands that invest in reliable, transparent, and scalable logistics stand out, earn trust, and keep customers coming back. The good news? You don’t need to build it all in-house.
Turn delivery into a competitive edge with Bigblue, the best 3PL in the UK
Bigblue helps over 600 fast-growing brands — including UK favourites like Serious Tissues or MUJI — offer a world-class delivery experience across Europe.
With a unified app, 9 warehouses in France, Spain, the UK and Germany, smart shipping automation and branded post-purchase flows, Bigblue enables you to offer next-day delivery, reduce logistics costs, and turn one-time buyers into loyal customers.
The result?
→ Up to +20% in repeat orders thanks to branded tracking and return experiences
→ A 35% drop in support tickets via real-time tracking, status emails, and embedded FAQ
→ 10,000+ daily orders handled with 99.9% SLA through Bigblue’s tech-powered fulfilment network
Ready to scale with Bigblue? Book a free demo now and discover how your logistics can drive both conversion and loyalty.
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