2025
9
UK Online Retailing: Delivery, Collection and Returns Market Report 2025
2025-10-30T16:01:32+00:00
REP74BD6EBC_7FB5_4B27_9222_A37D8874B98F
2195
188069
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Report
en_GB
As consumers seek greater control over their online purchases, the post-purchase journey is undergoing a transformation. Investment is shifting towards out-of-home networks, with retailers and delivery operators looking to add…
UK
eCommerce
simple

UK Online Retailing: Delivery, Collection and Returns Market Report 2025

"Consumers are choosing to receive and return their online purchases through methods which minimise friction and maximise control."

Bridget McCusker, Research Analyst

Market Intelligence ReportseCommerceUK

UK Online Retailing Industry – Trends and Insights

  • As consumers seek greater control over their online purchases, the post-purchase journey is undergoing a transformation. Investment is shifting towards out-of-home networks, with retailers and delivery operators looking to add more touch-points to boost convenience and flexibility. The value of collected orders is expected to grow by 8.6% in 2025.
  • 40% of online shoppers are willing to pay extra to collect all their orders from a single point, which underlines this desire for convenience. A threat to the adoption of these services is perception of safety, as 61% of consumers feel uncomfortable collecting parcels from a locker at night. This highlights a barrier that must be addressed to unlock the full potential of out-of-home networks.
  • The demand for seamless experiences also presents an opportunity to create frictionless returns, with 52% of online shoppers wanting instant refunds as soon as their parcel is scanned. Innovations like label-free and box-free returns are gaining traction, pointing to a future where returning is as easy as buying.

Key Issues Covered in the Report

  • The estimated value of collected orders within the UK online retail market
  • Consumer use and perceptions of different delivery and collection methods for online orders
  • The level of online returns, and consumer attitudes towards the returns process
  • Consumer comfort and security in using lockers, and strategies to grow usage without adding friction
  • Attitudes towards delivery and collection, including opportunities towards greater convenience in the post-purchase journey 

Market Definitions

For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:

Delivery is defined as an order that is delivered to a customer’s home, work, place of education or any other location that they have used as a traditional postal address.

Collection is used as a broad term to describe the numerous collection services offered in the UK retail sector. Broadly speaking, collection orders can fall into one of three fulfilment methods:

  • Click-and-collect in-store: this is where payment is taken online and the order is made available for collection at a retailer’s own store or via another retailer’s store through a partnership, eg through Amazon’s Hub scheme.
  • Reserve-and-collect in-store: this is where no payment is taken at the point of purchase, rather the items are reserved to be collected and paid for in a retailer’s own store.
  • Click-and-collect at third-party locations: this is where, usually, payment is taken online and then products are made available to collect at a location that is not the retailer’s store. Examples of third-party collection services include collection services such as Collect+, where products are made available at other participating stores, or first- or third-party locker services where products are delivered to and held in lockers for collection.

Return(s) is used to describe any returned goods from an online order. This can be done through postal means, in-store or via a third party.

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  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • What you need to know
    • The outlook for the delivery, collection & returns market
    • Opportunities
    • The future of collection innovation
    • Demand for convenience will shape the future of returns
    • Rapid delivery to shape the future of the post-purchase journey

  2. THE MARKET

    • Target higher-income shoppers with premium offerings
    • Continued push for drones to reshape the future of UK ecommerce
    • Rapid delivery is redefining convenience
    • Delivery apps called to reveal ‘black-box algorithms’ impacting UK couriers
    • UK to close tax loophole on low-value imports
    • Value of collection expected to grow in 2025
    • Click-and-collect is evolving into a core part of UK retail

  3. THE CONSUMER

    • The perception of collection
    • Convenience is reshaping collection behaviour, with lockers leading the shift
    • Click-and-collect use continues to boom
    • Alternate pickup grows, but time costs kill convenience
    • Consumers lock in with lockers
    • The perception of delivery
    • Online growth can be driven by delivery
    • Home delivery holds more positive perceptions than collection
    • Real-time tracking can be the cure for delivery doubts
    • Returns
    • Unpacking returns by consumers
    • The future of returns is fast and frictionless
    • Graph 1: consumer interest in delivery and return innovation, by age, 2025
    • Fitting rooms by locker can make the returns journey easier
    • Attitudes towards delivery and collection services
    • Rapid delivery will be the new standard for delivery
    • Daily routines drive collection method used
    • The delivery dilemma
    • The trade-off between speed and sustainability
    • Personal security concerns impact the post-purchase journey
    • Interest in future innovations
    • Convenience is key when it comes to future innovations
    • Graph 2: consumer interest in innovations for receiving and returning online purchases, 2025
    • Contactless verification can reduce anxiety for high‑value orders
    • Growing appetite for ultra-convenient collection
    • Offer a parcel rescue service for online shoppers
    • UK appetite for self-driving mobile lockers is still niche

  4. INNOVATION AND MARKETING

    • Evri builds on its strong momentum
    • Delivery operators focus on out-of-home
    • Royal Mail makes big changes to its red postboxes in its 175-year history
    • Click-and-collect services level up
    • Technology helping to boost speed and efficiency for delivery
    • Autonomous delivery experimentation continues to grow

  5. APPENDIX

    • Market definition
    • The market
    • Online retail sales as a percentage of total retail sales
    • Graph 3: online retail sales including VAT and as a percentage of total retail sales (excl. fuel), 2019-24
    • Estimated percentage breakdown of total online sales by product category
    • Graph 4: estmated percentage breakdown of total online sales*, by product category, 2025
    • Online retailers: market shares
    • The consumer
    • Consumer research questions
    • Consumer research methodology – EMEA
    • Correspondence analysis methodology
    • Correspondence analysis: Online Retailing: Delivery, Collection and Returns
    • Repertoire analysis methodology
    • Other data source methodologies
    • Snoop SpendMapper methodology
    • Abbreviations and terms
    • Abbreviations

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