Standard deliveries that arrive express
People ordering gifts online this Christmas could find that the free or standard delivery option is just as good as paying extra for premium or express delivery, says which.co.uk.Some retailers offer free or standard delivery for all purchases, but many offer a more expensive ‘priority' or ‘express' option that promises delivery within two working days or even next day.
When which.co.uk ordered goods from 15 popular online retailers, it found that premium deliveries usually arrived twice as quickly - a day and a half on average - but four of the shops took the same amount of time to deliver both standard and premium orders, and standard deliveries were more likely to arrive earlier than they were promised.
The average price for standard deliveries was £2.16, compared to £5.74 on average for premium delivery. As well as a speedier service, premium deliveries usually give more detailed delivery times and may guarantee delivery by a certain time or date. Some also allow the order to be tracked online.
The which.co.uk test also found that online shops usually deliver within the time frame they promise - only two deliveries out of 30 orders failed to arrive within the promised time frame.
Jess Ross, editor, which.co.uk, says: "Generally, the quicker you want something the more expensive delivery gets, so if you want to take advantage of free or cheaper delivery options you'll need to order soon.
"Although we found that standard delivery was sometimes just as quick, and in most cases will mean your purchases arrive just a day or so later, if you're cutting it fine you might think it's worth paying a couple of pounds more for premium delivery, for the extra peace of mind."