Damaged deliveries soar ahead of Black Friday
Our UK-wide research of 2,000 online shoppers found that they received four parcels on average with cosmetic or fundamental damage in 2024, compared to three in 2023. It comes as shoppers and businesses prepare themselves for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the busiest days of the year for retail.
The number of people in the UK that have experienced damaged online deliveries has climbed by over a 37% increase1 in the last year. This is equal to 85 million damaged parcels2 last year or over 45,000 Olympic swimming pools3 filled by damaged parcels.
people in the UK experienced damaged online deliveries in 2024
People are excited for Black Friday bargains, but each broken delivery bursts that bubble and contributes to an annual multi-billion-pound problem.
The poll found that more people are ordering online at least once a month – an increase of 13%4.
Over one in two (53%) respondents reported receiving damaged goods from online purchases in the past 12 months. This has led to frustrated Brits, with well over half (57%) admitting they would be hesitant to shop with a retailer again if they received a broken or damaged item.
From tech to flowerpots, we order just about anything online, but products can be dropped, squashed, crushed, and shaken on route. Products need cleverly designed packaging so people aren’t left disappointed with an online order that arrives in pieces.
are hesitant to shop with a retailer again if they received a broken or damaged item
The most common items to arrive damaged were food and drink (15%), household items like crockery and glassware (15%), and entertainment products like books or games (13%). Meanwhile, 1 in 10 (10%) have received damaged health and beauty products, according to the figures.
Our research also found that consumers are receiving damaged items of considerable value. The average value of items received in a bad condition is £56.13, meaning the total bill for damages amounts to approximately £2.3 billion5– the equivalent to 2.9 million iPhone 16s6.
Behind the scenes - methodology:
Research was commissioned in October 2024 by DS Smith. A nationally representative survey of 2,000 people in the UK was conducted by OnePoll from 10th to 14th October 2024. Some statistics have been calculated by extrapolating the answers for responses using ONS UK population data, whilst others have been calculated by comparing responses to the same research carried out by Opinium in 2023 (from 3 November – 7 November) of 2,000 people.
1Calculated by comparing YoY data (2024 vs 2023) of the number of people who have never received damaged goods when ordering online to those that have received damaged goods.
2This is the total number of damaged parcels over the last year, combining responses of those who received significantly as well as cosmetically damaged parcels, and extrapolating using ONS UK adult population data 2024 (53,646,829).
3By conducting a year-on-year comparison of the number of people who make online purchases.
4This was calculated by dividing the size of an Olympic swimming pool by the average size of a parcel. We then divided the total amount of damaged parcels in the last year by this figure, to reach 45,000 swimming pools.
5Using the ONS UK adult population data, we extrapolated the number of adults in the UK who received a damaged parcel (37%) and multiplied this by the average number of damaged parcels received last year (2.09). To then reach the total bill for damages, we multiplied this figure by the average cost of damaged parcels (£56.13) to reach £2.3 billion.
6We divided the £2.3bn figure (above) by the average cost of an iPhone 16s (£799), to reach 2.9 million.
