Four in five online shoppers in Europe would buy more items to qualify for free delivery or collection, according to a new survey.

The report from JDA and Centiro also highlighted the importance of getting home delivery and ‘click & collect’ right, after almost two-thirds said they would switch to a different retailer if they had a bad experience with one of these services.

UK shoppers were deemed to be the least tolerant with three-quarters saying they were likely to switch to another retailer next time following a troubled delivery or collection.

The research revealed that almost half of European shoppers had used ‘click and collect’ in the past year, 17 per cent more than in 2014.

A JDA spokesperson noted that while retailers are investing heavily in their delivery and collection services, most customers expected online orders to be fulfilled free of charge.

“Last-mile issues continue to negatively impact the customer experience and customers are more willing to go elsewhere if their expectations aren’t being met,” they added.