Online deliveries expected to grow 'to 1.35bn by 2018'

Online deliveries are expected to grow to 1.35bn over the next four years, research from a high street bank has shown.

Barclay's bank found more and more people were relying on online services to buy consumer goods, and found:

• Electricals are forecast to be the highest growth sector for deliveries, with the number of packages expected to increase by 61% over the next four years.
• Nearly 30% of retailers would use Click & Collect as their preferred delivery option although less than 20% of consumers have used this service in the past year.
• Whilst the majority of retailers believe online shopping and delivery have benefited their sales numbers, over 30% believe it has been detrimental to costs.
• Letterbox-sized packages and small parcels made up 60% of all deliveries from online orders in 2013 and letterbox-sized packages are set to see the highest growth by 2018, growing by 45%.
• East Anglia is to see the biggest growth in deliveries, while the South East is set to remain as the region with the highest number. Regions where people live closer to towns and cities will see slightly lower growth.