Introduction
How many of your shipments were ‘lost’ in 2024?
An estimated 1% of global shipments are lost each year (equivalent to 110 million tons), but when it comes to last-mile delivery of online orders, the likelihood of a lost, damaged or stolen package increases.
In the UK, for example, 2024 Citizens Advice Bureau research found that 36% of online shoppers (14.8 million people) had a delivery issue with a parcel per month. While lost or damaged packages are frustrating for the customer, they’re also detrimental to the retailer’s bottom line and reputation – even if the courier is at fault.
But now, e-commerce retailers are fighting back. Here’s why.
Why more retailers are claiming for lost shipments
More shipments than ever before
With increased smartphone penetration, greater internet coverage and the proliferation of digital payments, e-commerce continues to grow in popularity with deliveries now inextricably linked to retailer revenue. In 2024, for instance, 83% of online orders were sent out for delivery in the UK, with over 5 billion total parcels delivered (up from 1.7 billion in 2013).
In short: without successful shipments, your business can’t function.
More ways to ‘lose’ shipments
From retailers shipping higher volumes and navigating third-party fulfilment to adverse weather conditions and untested delivery technology (i.e. drones and autonomous vehicles), there are an increasing number of ways for your shipments to get lost in transit. In addition, heighted customer expectations (i.e. increased demand for free shipping and same-day or next-day delivery) and greater courier competition has led to carriers struggling with timely deliveries and losing more shipments.
In short: your 2025 shipments are more likely to be lost than last year.
Greater financial damage from lost shipments
Lost and damaged shipments are a lose-lose: frustrating for customers and costly for retailers. E-commerce companies not only take the financial hit of replacing or reimbursing lost parcels, but delivery issues are also the biggest driver of bad reviews (accounting for 40% of one-star reviews) with over half (52%) of shoppers holding the retailer responsible (not the courier). To make matters worse, almost two-thirds of shoppers will not reorder a non-delivered parcel and a quarter (24%) will never shop with the retailer again due to the bad experience.
In short: lost shipments lead to lost revenue both today and in the future.
Automated claims: how AI is recouping retailer compensation
From Royal Mail and Evri to DPD and ParcelForce, most major couriers provide basic insurance for deliveries (usually up to an average of £100 per item depending on weight or value). But the (purposefully) complex claims process and slow processing of reimbursements has traditionally put off many e-commerce retailers from claiming.
But advances in AI technology have automated claims processing for lost shipments, making it easier and more profitable to make a claim. Now, you can seamlessly claim for lost shipments in bulk, recoup lost shipping costs and make a tangible impact to your bottom line with minimal intervention.
With AI claims technology, you can:
- Streamline claims. Use AI to automate the compensation process and cut time spent on claims processes by 80%.
- Improve customer satisfaction. Use recouped costs to provide hassle-free replacements and avoid customer dissatisfaction.
- Enhance profits. Recover up to 15% of your annual shipping costs through claims automation
Automated claims with Claimit
At Claimit, our automated claims process not only enables you to recover shipping costs, but our platform automatically detects lost shipments with real-time tracking and gives you full visibility of every claim in one centralised dashboard. We seamlessly integrate with all the major couriers, submit claims to couriers on your behalf and track their status in real-time, so you can sit back, relax and boost your bottom line.
In short: you are owed compensation for lost shipments. So claim it.
Ready to optimise your claims process? Book a Demo with Claimit today and discover how automated claims management can benefit your business.
