• 51% of all peak shutling happened over a 10-day period (from 14th to 23rd December), with 24% occurring over a frantic 4-day window (from 19th to 22nd December). 2010 happened to be even later / more frantic for Shutl although we suspect that was an anomaly caused by the snow and shoppers not being able to receive their previously ordered shopping.

• Shoppers bought 2 hours later in the day versus pre-peak, with a seven-fold increase in insomniacs placing online orders between midnight and 3am.

• Our fastest delivery was an order placed at Oasis on 16th November 2011, delivered in 17mins : 24secs of checking out. This was 41% faster than last year’s quickest (29mins : 24secs), though still some way off Shutl’s 14mins : 59secs world record set in March 2011.  Average ‘Now’ delivery time was 85mins : 01secs.

What separates the sexes?

• Pre-peak, men accounted for only 36% of Shutl orders on average, however 38 / 40 days leading up to Christmas saw an increased proportion of men using the service. Saturday 17th December saw the first (and only) time male users outnumbered female!
• Men seemingly have higher expectations than women – or at least perhaps they don’t value their time as highly! Feedback left by female shoppers over the period consistently ranked the Shutl service 4% higher than their male counterparts, scoring it a whopping 96% combined across ‘value for money’, ‘ease of use’, ‘speed of delivery’ & the ‘delivery person’. The greatest variance (150%) was for ‘value for money’, although male perception improved considerably over the Christmas period.

Kindle beats iPad in battle, but Apple is winning the war

• Consumer electronics accounted for 55% of top 100 products shutl’d.
• The Kindle was the most popular item Shutl’d, representing 1.6% of all transactions and outselling iPads by almost 2:1.
• When including iPods, Apple narrowly pips Amazon to the post, accounting for 1.7% of all items shutl’d.

Xmas 2011: bigger, cheaper and mobiler

• 155% increase in the availability of Shutl (0.5m+ shoppers were offered Shutl this year). This is the combined result of more retailers offering the service and the successful completion of the first phase of our national expansion plan.
• 2,570% more shoppers chose Shutl versus 2010, driven by increased availability, greater awareness and promotional pricing.
• The average price paid for Shutl delivery over the holiday period was £5.64, with over 40% of customers receiving their delivery for free.
• 4,385% growth in the number of people using the Shutl service via a mobile device, with iPads proving to be the most popular (accounting for a whopping 77% of all mobile traffic).

5 Predictions for Xmas 2012

1. 5m+ shoppers will be offered Shutl during peak 2012: With increased coverage and new retailers coming on board, we expect 10x increase in availability of Shutl next year.
2. Majority of deliveries will be free: Having demonstrated this year that offering Shutl for free makes customers more likely to buy (not just choose Shutl) we expect Shutl to become a mainstream promotional tool.
3. Retailers will expand opening hours over Christmas period: Given that shoppers are shopping later, we expect several retailers serving key product categories to remain open much later in the day with some city stores even offering 24/7 delivery…
4. Shutl to me here!: It is clear to all that mobile shopping is not just a fad. We expect innovative retailers to make use of the inherent advantages of mobile and start allowing shoppers to order deliveries to non-home/work locations. i.e. hairdresser, restaurant etc.
5. Sub 10 minute delivery: With more retailers, greater coverage and improved implementations, we believe it is only a matter of time before the 10 minute barrier is broken…

Many of this year’s last minute shoppers will be giving a wide berth to online retailers having been let down by them and their delivery providers last year.

We thought therefore that now would be an opportune moment to spell out what shoppers can expect when they choose delivery by rocket and why we are just a little bit different from your average delivery provider.



1. While exact Christmas cut-off times will vary by retailer, this year you will be able to place orders for Shutl’s same day delivery right up until the afternoon of 24th December. In fact Shutl delivers 24 hours a day 365 days a year, we just need our retail partners to be open in order to be able to offer service.

Don’t worry though, here at the Launchpad we’ve read them all and extracted the most interesting factoids so you don’t have to… and acknowledging that few people gets as turned on by delivery data as we do, marketing Guy has even tarted them up and created a pretty infographic for your delectation!

1. In 2007, 29 million people received at least one home delivery over the course of the year (58% of the adult population).  By 2010 this had increased by 22% to 35m people (69% of the adult population).¹
2. In 2007, the average online shopper spent £475 over the course of the year, increasing by 44% to £682 in 2010.¹
3. Although the greatest users of home delivery are aged 35-54, the fastest growing age bracket are the 55+.¹
4. 48% of internet shoppers say that they shop online in order to save time.¹
5. 58% of shoppers say they would be more likely to use home delivery if the service was faster or more convenient.¹
6. 22% of shoppers say they would use home delivery more frequently if the charges were lower.¹
7. Almost one in ten people (9%) say they have been put off online shopping this Christmas because of previous problems with delivery.²
8. At 27%, more than a quarter of all those polled say they had encountered a problem with online Christmas deliveries in the past.²
9. 61% of people say they blame the retailer if a delivery is late.³
10. 12% of people say they chose to shop with a competitor after being left waiting for too long.³
11. 36% of customers say that when made to wait for a delivery they have complained to friends about the company, with 9% posting their complaint online.  Conversely, 32% claimed they would recommend a company for an on-time delivery.³
12. 26% of shoppers have taken a day’s holiday to wait in for a delivery, at an estimated cost of £177 per person per annum in lost time and wages.³
13. Almost one in 10 Britons (9%) have taken a day off sick to wait for a delivery.³

Sources:

¹ Verdict UK Home Delivery & Fulfilment, November 2011 (sample: 1,944 UK consumer interviews)

²Postcode Anywhere, November 2011 (sample: 1,000 UK consumers)

³ TOA, November 2011 (sample: 1,006 UK consumers

To celebrate the countdown to Halloween, we’re asking you to recount your most grim and ghastly tales of delivery disaster!

The web is jam packed with bloodcurdling horror stories – from the mysterious cards that arrive through the letterbox without any warning to packages that arrive as if mauled by unknown fiends.  A quick social search of traditional delivery networks gives a harrowing view into an evil underbelly of customer dissatisfaction. Opinion aggregator Amplicate shows that out of 4,844 online comments mentioning the four largest UK couriers, 72% were classified as ‘hate’ comments!  We want to dive a little deeper and hear exactly what it is that makes you squirm in your sleep…

To enter the competition, all you need to do is ‘like’ Shutl on Facebook and post a video or photo (or link to a video or photo) onto our wall of the delivery nightmare that really makes your blood run cold.  There’s £100 of Argos vouchers up for grabs, with the prize going to the entry with the most ‘likes’ at 12pm on Monday 31^st October*… so get your friends involved!

e-tradecounter.co.uk is an independent heating, plumbing and electrical wholesaler servicing all market sectors – from trade accounts through to home owners.

Keen to expand and improve the range of services that it offers customers, e-tradecounter.co.uk has now launched Shutl delivery for London based shoppers!

The service is currently being trialled and is only available to customers ordering over the phone for delivery to qualifying postcodes within the M25.


Just ring 01279 426 832 to place an order and have your items delivered right away!

From a brand perspective, Shutl blasted off in December ’09 at Le Web in Paris;  the day our website went live and we made our ambitions public.

Prior to Le Web, we’d only shared the Shutl identity with a very select group of key constituents: retailers, couriers and shoppers (mainly family and friends). It received positive feedback, with people warming to its retro charm.  It felt to us like we were laying the foundations of a great digital brand of the future.

So why, less than 2 years later, are we about to rebrand?

1.  We now know who we need to engage and how

Shutl’s current identity was developed to a creative brief determined by what we thought the business’s needs would be.  The trouble is that at the time that brief was written there was no business! Just a bunch of assumptions, and aspirations…

Now, 2 years in and with a bit of practical experience under our belt, we are in a good position to re-evaluate those assumptions.  We know exactly who we need to engage with and, more importantly, how we should go about doing it.  Our business is B2B2C, and our brand needs to speak to both consumers and retailers… albeit at different levels.

2.  We know what brand assets we require.

In re-evaluating our requirements, we scoped out a “brand toolkit” (assets, iconography, guidelines, etc.) that we deemed necessary for the job.  Our first stop was to see whether we could deliver on all these elements with the existing identity. The conclusion was that as much as we love our brand, it doesn’t give us the flexibility we needed.

Critical to Shutl’s success is generating sustainable value and competitive advantage for the retailers that we serve.   Whilst Shutl has proven attractive to higher value customers, retailers can only truly benefit if they communicate the proposition effectively within their customer journey.

In order for a retailer to attract/convert customers off the back of Shutl, shoppers first need to be aware that the retailer offers the service!  To that end our identity and proposition needed to be able to take the form of a badge that could be displayed (proudly!) on their websites and any other channels they offer the service across.  It has to be able to occupy its own space so that it is both distinctive and consistent in appearance, irrespective of the background it is displayed against.



3.  We need to remove the barriers

Having deployed our brand identity across a bunch of major high street names, we’ve met with a couple of grumbles over and over again… namely that the shape and colour of our logo and icons were awkward and didn’t sit comfortably with incumbent elements of their webpages. These grumbles only present us with barriers to making our service more ubiquitous.  So we had to remove them.



4.  Sooner is better than later

Although we are unwaveringly intent on world domination, Shutl is currently still only offered by a handful of UK retailers.  It seemed prudent, therefore, that if we were to rebrand then we should do so sooner rather than later. Whilst only a small percentage of UK shoppers have interacted with or are aware of Shutl, the cost of change to our business (in terms of lost brand equity) is relatively small.  It is also relatively painless for our retailers given that there are currently only a small number who have integrated Shutl with their channels, some of whom are already working on new and improved implementations of the service.


So when will the new identity be launched?  With a bit of luck sometime in early November, though the exact date is till TBC.  Of course, we’ll all be very sad to move on from something that we’ve nurtured over that last few years, but we’re confident that version 2.0 will better equip Shutl for the future.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be tightening up the sprockets, so keep your eyes peeled and prepare for lift off…!

A huge welcome to shoppers living in and around these 6 cities!   As of today you can now choose Shutl delivery from Karen Millen, Oasis, Coast and Warehouse.

Don’t panic If we are not yet delivering in your area or from your preferred shops!  Instead, drop us a comment with your nearest town and the names of the retailers you would most like us to be working with.  We’re currently seriously hard at work expanding both our coverage and our retail partners, so your input would be most welcome!

The delivery revolution is gathering momentum…

Retail Systems Multichannel Retail Summit
Tuesday, 13th September 2011 @ The IOD Hub, London
FREE for retailers and consultants

Tom will be joining many leading industry experts to discuss the shortcomings of traditional delivery methods and illustrate how delivery can become a means of improving conversion, increasing AOV and enhancing the shopping experience. He will then share details of Shutl’s first clients, results to date and future plans.

BOOK NOW



Retail IT: Celebrating 10 years in Retail!
15th September 2011 from 16:00 to 18:30 @ The Fashion and Textile Museum, London
FREE for retailers and partners of Retail IT

Tom Allason (he gets around) will be joining a hostof industry speakers and Retail IT partners to discuss current delivery trends and how these are shaping the future of the industry. He’ll also demonstrate how “putting the rocket into retailing” can deliver long-term, sustainable competitive advantage for retailers of all sizes.
BOOK NOW

The Retail Conference 2011
21st September 2011 @ America Square Conference Centre, London.
FREE for retailers

Now in its 5th year, this event attracts some 300 delegates from the UK’s leading retailers and is consistently oversubscribed. David Tarbuck, Multichannel Development & Operations Manager at Argos, will be sharing best practices in multichannel fulfilment, talking about their partnership with Shutl and the results it has delivered to date. His keynote seminar will look at:

• How such a service is made possible
• What it was like to implement
• What the impact has been on Argos’ business
• What customers are saying about it…

This is a unique opportunity to hear from Argos, the dominant force in UK multi-channel retailing, and discover how they’re innovating to ensure they can meet their customers’ wants and needs in the future. Oh yeah, and Tom will be speaking too… what a slut!
BOOK NOW

1. Shelter

If you need a tent, you can’t go wrong with this stylish pop-up number. It will save you time pitching so you can arrive is style and get right into partying.  It’s distinctive enough to stand out from the crowd, without screaming “steal me” and best of all, it’s less than half price!




2. Sleep

If it suddenly looks like the flimsy summer sleeping bag you packed just isn’t going to cut it, and have no space to pack wooly socks and a hat to sleep in, upgrade your sleeping bag to a 500gsm – it’s like a cocoon shaped hug, protecting you from the elements as those around you shiver in the August downpours.

3. Fashion

If you just can’t get your head around Wellies, and are confident you’ll be able to blag your way into the carpeted bliss of the VIP section, these boots will look fantastic with some shorts and a vest top. What’s more they will last you all the way though autumn! Team them with this amazing cardy, and you’ll be the chicest chica in the arena!




Finally, if you’re really stuck for something to wear, there is always that fail-safe festival favourite – the humble playsuit.  Comfortable yet stylish, it allows you to get a tan without stripping off, and you can piggy back on your mate’s shoulders without giving everyone trying to get a glimpse of Jarvis Cocker an eyeful! We love this one from Warehouse: and with the special offer on at the moment; it could be Shutl’d to you for just 90p!

Available exclusively to tradesmen, TradePoint offers highly competitive, trade-only prices across a huge selection of leading brands. From tools and supplies to kitchens, bathrooms and appliances, TradePoint caters for the needs of just about any job.





In partnership with Shutl, TradePoint customers can now order via phone and receive delivery within as little as 90 minutes, or choose a 1-hour delivery window of their choice, same day or any day. The service operates 7am-9pm Mon-Fri, 8am-9pm Sat, and 11am-5pm Sun, with customers able to arrange delivery to any location within the M25, including site or home (provided that somebody is there to sign for it). Ordering couldn’t be simpler:


1. Call either:
• Beckton TradePoint on 02087091122
• Enfield TradePoint on 02083624722


2. Place your order using the TradePoint catalogue


3. Pick either Shutl now or Shutl later


4. Confirm the total price and pay over the phone


5. Sign for your delivery when it arrives.





For more information and to sign up to TradePoint, visit www.Trade-Point.co.uk .