[September 23, 2014]

Pitney Bowes Research Shows Half of Americans Plan to Shop Online Earlier for Holiday Gifts

According to a recent survey conducted by Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI), half of Americans (49 percent) plan to shop online earlier for gifts this holiday season. The main reason for this decision is to make sure they receive their packages on time (63 percent).

"Last year, holiday shipping challenges stemmed from a perfect storm of record-breaking weather combined with over-promises to deliver orders on time and a last-minute shipping surge," said Christoph Stehmann, president, Ecommerce and Shipping Solutions, Pitney Bowes. "To help capture holiday sales this year and meet customer expectations, retailers should prepare well in advance for the unexpected, and provide real-time visibility on shipping packages and reliable delivery estimates."

Overall, 70 percent of Americans consider shipping options to be an important factor in the shopping experience compared to 66 percent in 2013. Also, one-third (33 percent) of respondents said they plan to pay more attention to shipping this year compared to last yer.

In addition, three in four Americans (77 percent) said that they track their packages that are being shipped to them versus 68 percent in 2013. One-third (33 percent) track their packages once or twice. Another 21 percent track packages three to five times, and 23 percent track it six or more times.

When it comes to free shipping versus fast shipping, 82 percent of Americans find free shipping where the product arrives in five to seven days more attractive, while 17 percent prefer fast shipping where the product arrives in one to two business days for a fee. As a result, retailers should consider offering free shipping as a delivery option well in advance of the holidays since this could mean that many Americans will be shopping even earlier this year.

On average, Americans who find fast shipping more attractive than free shipping would be willing to pay $8.50 for the package to arrive within two business days. Relatively few (19 percent) would be willing to pay more than $10 for fast shipping.

Methodology: The second annual Pitney Bowes Holiday Shipping Survey was conducted by ORC International and polled approximately 1,000 U.S. adults on their attitudes toward shopping and shipping leading up to the holidays. The survey was conducted via telephone in the U.S. using ORC's Telephone CARAVAN® Omnibus in August 2014.

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes provides technology solutions for small, mid-size and large firms that help them connect with customers to build loyalty and grow revenue. Many of the company's solutions are delivered on open platforms to best organize, analyze and apply both public and proprietary data to two-way customer communications. Pitney Bowes includes direct mail, transactional mail and call center communications in its solution mix along with digital channel messaging for the Web, email and mobile applications. Pitney Bowes: Every connection is a new opportunity™. www.pb.com.

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