The majority of UK consumers would be unhappy with Amazon's proposed policy of anticipatory shipping.

A new survey by commerce solutions provider Venda found 55 per cent of shoppers would feel annoyed if retailers started sending goods before they had even been ordered. In addition, 37 per cent of respondents claimed they would refuse to keep an item they had not wanted to purchase, in case it encouraged businesses to do it more often.

Published in the Drum, the study found a small number of consumers would be happy with the initiative. Some 12 per cent of respondents stated they would hold on to an item they had not ordered, providing it was something they were already intending to buy.

Eric Abensur, group chief executive officer at Venda, commented: "Privacy is still a huge issue for consumers, and from their perspective, the idea of having every move they make put under the microscope can be disconcerting."

He added businesses need to make sure their efforts to develop a more personalised service also reassured consumers their data was safe and not being used for measures to generate more revenue.