Brits collectively travel almost 36 billion miles every year to pick up and drop off parcel deliveries and returns, new research from Quadient reveals.  

Its poll of 2,000 UK consumers found that the average Brit travels 44.4 miles every month – equivalent to 533 miles a year – to send, collect and return parcels, with those journeys adding up to almost 36 billion miles annually across the UK.

Parcel-related journeys have now become an increasingly time-consuming part of everyday life. More than a third of consumers (36%) say they make more trips than they would like simply to manage parcel deliveries and returns.

Numerous trips to manage parcels across multiple carrier networks are also becoming a growing source of inconvenience for consumers.

More than half of consumers (54%) have expressed frustration at having to visit different locations to collect deliveries or return parcels for different carriers, while 59% say they would prefer parcel deliveries and collections from multiple carriers to be managed from one location.

The additional journeys are also raising sustainability concerns. On average, consumers make almost four trips a month to send parcels, almost four more to collect them and more than two to return items. The average round trip is around 4.4 miles for both sending and collecting parcels, rising to 4.6 miles for returns.

“Managing parcels is taking up more of people’s time than it should. Too often, consumers must visit several locations because different carriers operate through separate networks,” said Katia Bourgeais-Crémel, EVP Lockers, Europe & International at Quadient.

“Not only is this costing people time and convenience, but it’s also creating avoidable transport emissions and ultimately increasing the environmental impact of everyday parcel deliveries,” she added.

Bourgeais-Crémel suggested that as parcel volumes continue to grow, retailers need to make delivery experiences more simple, efficient and sustainable.