Who is the leading courier in the UK?

The majority of people in the UK have either sent or received a package through a courier. The practical, efficient service they provide is extremely valuable to us in our hectic, modern-day lives.
 
Couriers will only become more and more important to us and the general economy over the coming years, what with e-commerce growing at an unprecedented rate. Meaning, it’s a very good industry to work in!
 
If you’re a courier, or operate a courier business, we’re sure you’ll agree that nothing beats hearing positive feedback from happy customers – particularly when they praise your speedy, efficient and friendly service.

Delivering goods day after day can be hard graft (tougher than people may think), but happy customers make it all worth it.
 
Of course, transporting customers’ precious cargo in your van requires specialist courier insurance. At Insurance Factory, we can provide tailored cover that suits your exact needs, for a price that’s right.
 
Depending on the type of cover you take out, courier insurance will help you get back to business as quickly as possible in the event your customers’ goods are lost, stolen or damaged during transit.

It gives you peace of mind that you, your van and all of your packages are well-protected as you clock up the miles driving to customers’ homes.
A courier driver walking a package to a house on a delivery

Which are the biggest couriers in the UK?

You may operate a modest courier business, but which ones have the most market share here in the UK?
 
According to the most recent Pitney Bowes Shipping Index, the top five carriers in the UK as of 2017 are Royal Mail, Hermes, Amazon Logistics, DHL and UPS. Together, these carriers account for 80% of the country’s parcel shipments.
 
The data also showed that a whopping 3.2 billion parcels were shipped during 2017, an 8.2% increase over 2016. This was the first time parcel shipments passed the three billion mark.
 
Breaking down Pitney Bowes’ figures further, Tamebay explains how Royal Mail shipped 1.2 billion parcels in 2017. Hermes, second on the list, shipped 314 million, while Amazon Logistics delivered 228 million parcels to customers.
 
On average, couriers delivered 48 parcels per person in the UK in 2017 – that’s almost one parcel a week to every person! T

he only country to trump us was Japan, where a staggering 76 parcels were delivered per person per year.
 
On a global scale, parcel volume skyrocketed by 17% in 2017 to reach 74.4 billion parcels, up from 63.6 billion the previous year.

An average of 22 parcels per person were delivered worldwide during this time, with 2,300 parcels shipping every single second.
 
The Global Parcel Delivery Market Insight Report 2019 from Apex Insight discusses some of the current trends in the global market. Here are some of them:
 
  • Postal operators are turning their attention to parcels as their mail volumes fall, and are becoming more commercial and international in the process.
  • Same-day deliveries are becoming more widely available.
  • In response to the growth and demands of online retailers, companies are putting a lot of effort into improving last-mile services.
  • Carriers are investing in improving information systems so they can offer better delivery information to end customers, and also boost their operational efficiency.
  • New technology is being applied on a wider scale throughout carrier operations – for instance automated sorting in hubs and depots, and trials of drones and robots for the last mile.
  • Large online retailers – like Alibaba and Amazon – are increasingly getting involved in the delivery service.
 
The global market is predicted to continue growing between now and 2023. This will be driven by continued growth in online retail, as well as the ongoing globalisation of supply chains.
A delivery man taking a package from the back of a van

Which couriers are the most popular?

Of course, bigger doesn’t always mean better. Just because a carrier has a large chunk of market share, doesn’t automatically mean their service is favoured over other carriers, including smaller firms.
 
Which? set out to uncover Britain’s favourite carrier services, gathering responses from 10,500 members of the public. Each person was asked about their experiences of online shopping over a six-month timeframe, with the results as follows:
 
 
Position Delivery company (responses) Satisfaction score
1 City Sprint (73) 92%
2 UK Mail (131) 88%
3 Amazon Logistics (500) 87%
4 Private Courier/local independent company (359) 86%
5 Parcelforce (311) 84%
= Royal Mail (regular post) (1,980) 84%
7 Hermes/My Hermes (1,252) 83%
= Royal Mail (signed for post) (852) 83%
9 DHL (401) 82%
= Fedex (189) 82%
11 UPS (76) 81%
12 DPD (655) 80%
= Yodel (483) 80%
 
Customers were quizzed about common delivery problems they’ve experienced. Around two in ten shoppers said they had experienced delivery delays, though this has dropped from over three in ten in 2016.
 
Fourteen percent claimed that they had orders that never even turned up, and the same percentage said that a delivery driver had left a ‘you were out’ card despite the fact they were in.
 
Of the people who had issues shopping online, 18% had received a faulty item and 14% didn’t receive a parcel at all. However, both of these problems aren’t always the courier company’s fault.

 

Get courier insurance with Insurance Factory

In the same way customers depend on you to deliver goods safely and on time, you can depend on Insurance Factory to protect you, you van and your customers’ goods when you’re out on the road.
 
Whether your van is full of goods or materials, we’ve got the right type of policy for you. The types of courier insurance we provide include:
 
  • Goods in transit insurance
  • Delivery insurance
  • Hire and reward insurance
  • Light haulage insurance
  • Vehicle and goods insurance
  • Van courier insurance
 
If you don’t think your business matches one of the above criteria, our specialists are more than happy to chat through your requirements to see if we have a product to suit.
 
For cover at a price that won’t break the bank, choose Insurance Factory. Get a quote today and see how much you could save!