UK retailers are bracing for an additional £19.6 billion of online home deliveries by 2025, as a result of the pandemic, according to new research from e-commerce delivery technology provider Metapack, in partnership with research consultancy Retail Economics. 

 This comes as online is expected to account for 49.7% of total non-food sales by 2025 amid a continuation of home working.

Working from home continues to disrupt the retail sector as it drives  both an uplift in online spend and puts pressure on footfall to stores.

By 2025, UK home workers expect their proportion of online orders delivered to their home to rise by 11.5%, compared to an average of 7.5% among those that do not work from home.  

Duncan Licence, VP of Global Product at Metapack, said:

“Driven by the pandemic, online consumer shopping expectations have changed significantly over the last few years, and a lot of these changes are here to stay. Our new report takes a closer look at these developments and their lasting impact on both consumers and retailers. It is expected that, as home working becomes the norm for more and more people, their appetite for fast, convenient, and easy deliveries that fit their lifestyle, will continue to increase. Retailers have reached a crossroads, they need to diversify their delivery options and invest in the right infrastructure and technology to meet the new needs of their consumers, or they will struggle to compete, especially as the shopping experience becomes synonymous with the delivery experience. The retail industry has evolved beyond bricks and mortar, it’s time to step into the age of ecommerce.”