Speed of delivery and pick-up options as the main factors to encourage ecommerce

According to statista.com, latest figures predict that in 2016, global Business-to-Consumer ecommerce sales are expected to reach $1.92 trillion or €1.69 trillion. This is not surprising as online shopping, has never been more accessible than it is today in this high speed digital era and the constant introduction of ever more powerful tablets, smartphones and secure payment systems.

The Eurostat report released in December 2015 reported that 51% of the total Maltese population shop online, with the highest share of 83% of e-buyers within the 16-24 years age group followed by 79% e-buyers within the 25-34 years age group.

In 2015, Malta ranked as the second member state having the highest share of e-shoppers (72%) to purchase clothes online following the United Kingdom (74%).

In the same year, almost half of Malta’s online shoppers (49%) purchased travel and holiday accommodation over the internet followed by 36% of Maltese e-shoppers who purchased books and magazines online.

Studies however show that it is not low-prices that attract eshopper but rather product selection, speed of delivery and most recently delivery options. Conscious of this, MaltaPost has sought to support online busi- nesses and e-shoppers alike with the introduction of the Easipik 24/7 parcel locker network.

Following the launch of MaltaPost’s SendOn hubs in the UK, Italy, Germany and the USA, thousands of Maltese consumers are shopping from their favourite European and USA online brands particularly those which do not ship directly to Malta.

To continue improving on the customer experience, MaltaPost has launched Easipik, a parcel locker solution for shoppers on the go who are not at home to receive their items. With Easipik, customers may collect their SendOn shopping 24/7 from a number of lockers which are conveniently located around Malta.

To utilise these lockers, before shopping online, customers are to log onto their SendOn account and choose one of the parcel lockers located in various Post Offices as their delivery

address. When the parcel is ready for collection, the customer will receive an email and SMS

with a code which should be keyed into the parcel locker screen in order to release the item. MaltaPost has also introduced the opportunity for insurance policies to protect shopping items forwarded to Malta through its hubs in Europe and the USA.