UK consumers say no to Amazon’s ‘anticipatory shipping’, says new research

The research, which YouGov conducted on behalf Venda, polled the views of 2,052 UK adults, also found that 37 per cent of consumers would regard this type of predictive delivery as an invasion of their privacy.

When asked if they would keep any products delivered, but not ordered, 37 per cent said they would not, because accepting the order would set a negative precedent with retailers and encourage them to use this tactic on an ongoing basis.

Eric Abensur, Group CEO, Venda said: “Although we are yet to see exactly how anticipatory shipping will be employed, if Amazon starts sending goods to customers without their consent, they risk alienating the vast majority of shoppers. Privacy is still a huge issue for consumers, and from their perspective, the idea of having every move they make put under the microscope can be disconcerting.

“Amazon and other retailers need to tread the fine line between offering customers a personalised online service, while cutting down fulfillment times, but at the same time, they need to reassure consumers that their data is safe and not being misused for revenue generating activities.”

Further results also showed that there is some appetite for anticipatory shipping from a small number of consumers. According to the data 12 per cent of UK consumers would keep products they received but not ordered, providing it was something they were already intending to buy.