UK online home deliveries could generate an additional £20 billion in the next three years due to the pandemic, according to new research.

The figures come from a study by e-commerce delivery tech company Metapack and research consultancy Retail Economics, which says that - driven by a shift to home working - online is expected to account for nearly half of all non-food sales by 2025.

The report surveyed over 6,000 consumers across the US, UK, France, and Germany.

It found that 27.3 per cent of UK respondents now expect to permanently shift more of their shopping online after forming new habits since the advent of Covid-19.

The study suggests that these new “digital shifters” are expected to support an additional £22.4 billion in online sales compared to a scenario where the pandemic had no impact on shopping behaviours.

According to the research, the move towards online shopping is projected to lead to £19.6 billion of additional sales going through home deliveries alone by 2025, compared to a scenario where the pandemic had no impact.

“Driven by the pandemic, online consumer shopping expectations have changed significantly over the last few years, and a lot of these changes are here to stay,” said Duncan Licence, vice president of global product, Metapack. “It is expected that, as home working becomes the norm for more and more people, their appetite for fast, convenient, and easy deliveries that fit their lifestyle, will continue to increase.”

Richard Lim, chief executive of retail economics says: “A permanent shift in consumer behaviour and vast investment across the ecommerce ecosystem has accelerated the shift to online. Structural changes in the labour market, with persistently higher levels of home working across households, has unlocked greater demand for home deliveries. Although the demand for speed will put pressure on supply chains, home workers have both a greater ability and greater willingness to pay for delivery and returns compared to average online shoppers, which is critical for profitability amid rising costs and elevated customer expectations.”

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