Christmas delivery costs to soar

SHOPPERS will be stung by higher delivery costs this Christmas, after analysis by The Sunday Telegraph found high street stores were in some cases charging double last year’s rates for online orders.

House of Fraser, John Lewis and Asos are among the retailers to have raised delivery costs over the past year, according to Telegraph research, which found that 10 of the UK’s largest brands either increased outright costs for delivery options or now require shoppers to spend more to qualify for free delivery.

At House of Fraser, the cost of having a particularly large item delivered has jumped to £19.99, compared with £9.99 in September 2021.

Meanwhile, at WH Smith, shoppers could previously get free delivery for orders over £20 and pay £4.99 for express delivery. This has now increased to free delivery for orders over £30, while express delivery costs £5.99. Standard delivery fees have not changed. It comes as retailers face a tougher Christmas, with more households expected to cut back on presents in the face of cost of living pressures.

Last week, Sainsbury’s said the coming weeks would give an indication of how significant the hit will be from steeper household bills.

Next, Currys, Argos, Hamleys and The Entertainer have all either raised costs or upped minimum spend for free delivery. At luxury retailer Liberty, the minimum order to qualify for free delivery has jumped to £75 from £45.

A spokesman for Currys said its fees were “consistent with other companies operating in our market.” Asos said its charges were “competitive” and that it was still offering shoppers free returns.

John Lewis said it was “working hard” to keep delivery costs down.