The provision of delivery information online : a missed opportunity

Retailing today involves selling not only in stores, but also through the web and other non-store electronic channels, termed e-services or e-retailing (Mathwick et al., 2002). According to Forrester (2004), more than 60 million Europeans shopped online in mid-2004, an increase of 50 per cent from early 2003. The Internet Media Research Group (IMRG, 2005) more recently reported that in the UK alone, consumers purchased GBP1.5 billion worth of goods on the internet in May 2005, 36 per cent more than they did in 2004. Although these statistics present a positive picture of B2C online retailing in Europe, industry analysts warn that dissatisfaction with delivery services is costing the online retailing industry a significant loss of orders (IMRG, 2005). In essence, home delivery remains the Achilles' heel of online retailing.