IMRG launches Internet Delivery Is Safe gold standard

The IDIS Gold Standard could help to improve delivery in the UK e-commerce industry

E-commerce industry group IMRG has stepped up its bid to improve the quality of online retailers' delivery services by introducing a gold standard to its Internet Delivery Is Safe (IDIS) trust scheme.

IDIS was introduced five years ago to encourage merchants to offer better delivery services and persuade more people to shop on the internet.

Online merchants that follow the IDIS delivery charter are required to offer certain services to customers, including convenient delivery options and access to order progress information.

The new IDIS Gold Standard has been designed for retailers that can meet 16 benchmark best practice standards and prove to customers that they can achieve successful first time delivery, the IMRG said.

Andrew Starkey, who is in charge of delivering the scheme, explained that the Gold Standard is "very specific and accredited", unlike the original IDIS which was "generic and a statement of intent".

IMRG claimed that there is a dire need for a new initiative to improve delivery in the UK e-commerce industry.

Some 17 out of every 100 orders are not delivered to the customer's expectations, and two thirds of these are delivered late or not at the first attempt.

The cost of these inefficiencies to the UK online retail sector is between £800m and £1bn a year, Starkey added, with retailers bearing much of these costs.