11 October 2007
With the continuing postal dispute there are concerns that online Christmas sales will be affected as customer confidence has been damaged by the uncertainty that goods will be delivered on time.
Although large retailers such as Tesco.com, Argos and Amazon will not be at less risk off suffering from the postal strike as they have their own delivery methods, smaller retailers who rely on Royal Mail could be seriously impacted.
The Chief Executive of the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), James Roper, believes that customers will quickly lose confidence in buying online as concerns about the strikes are growing.
Roper further commented:
The strike is destroying the industry. Our industry works on confidence and trust of the customers. The Royal Mail is the only doorstep delivery business in the UK.
The effects will be permanent. Internet shopping is delivery and if that is uncertain then the industry is uncertain. It will hit Christmas sales and the Royal Mail in the long term.
The advice now is for the smaller retailers to seek out alternative delivery methods and reassure their customer base that the strikes will not impact on the delivery of any Christmas goods.
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