Youth driving e-commerce growth, but demand better delivery: Descartes study

Younger consumers are driving growth in e-commerce spending but remain dissatisfied with home delivery experiences, according to new research from Descartes Systems Group.

The company’s fourth annual study, How Smarter Home Delivery Wins Younger Consumers as Online Buying Slows, found that 43 per cent of consumers aged 18 to 35 increased their online spending over the past year, despite an overall slowdown in e-commerce. By contrast, only 32 per cent of those over 65 upped their online purchases.

The survey of 8,000 consumers in North America and Europe also revealed that 44 per cent of under-35s shop online at least biweekly, up from 33 per cent a year ago. However, 79 per cent reported delivery issues—well above the 66 per cent average across all age groups.

“Younger consumers are not only driving e-commerce growth—they’re also demanding a better delivery experience,” said Mavi Silveira, Descartes’ senior vice-president of global marketing. “Retailers risk losing long-term value from this key demographic if performance doesn’t improve.”

In another announcement, U.K.-based delivery firm ArrowXL is now using Descartes’ route planning technology to improve last-mile efficiency, reduce emissions and boost customer service.

ArrowXL completes more than 2.6 million deliveries annually and says the Descartes solution has allowed it to optimize vehicle use and integrate more closely with client systems.