David Smith, director of operations at the Interactive Media in Retail Group, said courier services benefited from the strikes.

The strike action carried out by Royal Mail workers in the final months of last year saw many small and medium-sized enterprises employ the services of alternative parcel delivery providers to ensure consumers received their goods.

David Smith, director of operations at the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), stated that customer service was online retailers' primary concern and the uncertainty over the Royal Mail's parcel delivery services saw many use other couriers.

He claimed that the alternative parcel delivery providers responded well to the spike in demand from consumers, with many reaping the rewards of the chaos which engulfed the Royal Mail.

"There was a lot of frustration from a retailer's point of view. What they are interested in is keeping consumer satisfaction up, and you saw a lot of switching and a lot of retailers moving away from Royal Mail at the time," Mr Smith said.

According to figures published by the IMRG, British shoppers spent £4.2 billion online in October.

Posted by Rob Elliott


Article Added: 04/02/2010 09:34:36