A growing number of shoppers now pay for regular services or deliveries, according to the RetailX Top1000 360° report.
Many European shoppers now have online subscriptions to a service or a regular purchase, ConsumerX data suggests – with 54% in the UK, 53% in both Germany and France, now paying for at least one subscription to a premium shopping service. Some 48% do so in the Benelux countries, while 34% do so in the Nordics.
Asked whether it’s important that retailers offer the option of subscribing for regular deliveries, the highest overall level of interest is in France, where 41% say it is either important (29%) or very important (12%) closely followed by Benelux (40%), although only 31% of German respondents agree.
The most popular subscriptions are for free delivery, whether of clothing, groceries, drinks or something else. Shoppers in Germany are most likely to have signed up for one of these, with 86% having done so, closely followed by those in the Benelux countries (84%).
For many, the free delivery subscription also comes with fast delivery, enjoyed by most respondents with subscriptions in Germany (77%), France (73%), the Benelux countries (67%), the UK (66%) and the Nordics (52%).
Value for money is the leading reason why shoppers in the UK (50%), Germany (45%), France (33%) and the Nordics (26%) subscribe to free delivery, while Benelux shoppers are more likely to do so for discounts (31%). Convenience is also a leading reason in many markets.
Regular grocery deliveries are a relatively popular subscription option, especially in the Benelux (40%) and Nordic (24%) countries. 33% of Benelux shoppers subscribe to deliveries of drinks.
Asked why they subscribe to food boxes, shoppers are most likely to name value for money in Germany (26%) and France (38%), and are most likely to name convenience in the UK (32%), the Nordics and Benelux (both 25%).
This is an excerpt from our first RetailX Europe Top1000 360°. This report brings together two strands of RetailX research.
The first is the Top1000, now in its ninth year of ranking ecommerce and multichannel retailers by performance. The second is the more recent 360° reports, which explore markets in the round, from the economic context for retail to retailer performance and how shoppers buy, or would like to buy.
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