Retail and ecommerce is constantly operating at odds with the various macro and micro economic states of play. Businesses tackled the pandemic, subsequently the ongoing cost of living crisis, and now it is fronting up to fuel hikes and supply chain challenges off the back the conflict surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. All these developments impact retailers’ and ecommerce businesses’ operational costs. With consumers expecting organisations to keep prices low in stores and online, and not to pass additional costs downstream. 

However, the operational reality is incredibly challenging given the rising fuel costs. Especially, when it comes to ecommerce home deliveries. But, it’s not just rising fuel costs that cause issues. The Descartes 4th Annual Ecommerce and Home Delivery Consumer Sentiment Study, of 8000 consumers in North America and Europe, points out that consumers actively turn away from retailers and delivery companies after a poor delivery experience. In addition to this, it explains that negative delivery experiences had a direct impact on the perception and future behaviour of two thirds (66%) of all consumers surveyed. So, not only do ecommerce retailers and delivery companies have to manage increasing operational costs; they also have to face up to the potential backlash from customers if their last mile delivery operations are poor.

In these challenging times, Dominik Pratz, Regional Sales Manager for DACH, BIXOLON Europe explains the vital role that clear customer communications plays during the last mile for retail and ecommerce brands, focusing on home delivery and out-of-home (OOH) delivery.

Home Delivery Is Still King

Ecommerce continues to grow. Data from ecommerce market intelligence firm, ECDB, says the European ecommerce market generated an ecommerce revenue of US$824,356m in 2025, and achieved an ecommerce growth rate of 10-15% compared to the previous year. With projections for 2026 seeing the ecommerce market trending toward a change of 5-10%.

In the UK, the Office for National Statistics’ April retail sales report, points out retail sales rose in the three months to April 2026. The online retail portion within this report also increased over the three months to April 2026. However, what it suggests, too, is that sales across other channels decreased (e.g. department stores). What is also interesting about the UK, is that the report says, “The amount spent online, known as ‘online spending values’, rose by 2.2% when comparing the three months to April 2026 with the three months to January 2026. It rose by 9.3% when comparing the same period with the three months to April 2025.” This suggests even though consumers may suffer a poor last mile delivery experience, that they may take their income to competing brands, and they are still spending. Opportunity exists.

Out-of-Home Delivery Is Queen

While home delivery has provided ecommerce brands the edge for many years, out-of-home (OOH) delivery is increasingly depended on by consumers. This includes the use of service points, parcel lockers and click and collect options, offering consumers the flexibility to receive goods when they’re not at home. Sendcloud’s E-commerce Delivery Compass 2025 says that 58% of European shoppers choose these OOH delivery options as their preferred delivery method, and that it is the second most selected option after home delivery.

From a UK standpoint, the Royal Mail suggests the UK is falling behind Europe for OOH delivery. Its research points out that 86% of consumers are frustrated at missing a delivery when they aren’t home to receive it; that 88% of people have experienced this; and that although home delivery is preferred by most UK consumers (76%), that 62% of UK shoppers have chosen to have parcels delivered to lockers and/or convenience shops.

Customer Communication At All Stages Is Key

This raises a question for ecommerce brands around how they are communicating with customers during home and OOH delivery moments? Online and offline is blending. The growth of messaging and apps is driving near real-time updates for many retail brands in efforts to communicate delivery status, and to offer an Amazon experience. But what happens when the consumer is not home to take delivery, or has to visit an OOH delivery site?

This is where the use of delivery cards and locker receipts become crucial as part of that important customer communication piece during last mile delivery. Sure, many delivery teams are equipped with mobile devices that provide instructions about which delivery to tackle next. But, when they arrive at the doorstep, and no one is home, are they equipped to leave a delivery note that is legible, with all the key details the customer needs, in order to arrange a new delivery date? Or, to offer the option of using an OOH delivery method instead?

In the case of home delivery, this is when ergonomic, light and robust printers help. They print the key information onto cards that can posted through letter boxes. Printers are valuable here because they help save time and increase accuracy. Enabling a delivery person with a printing tool, to hit a button that prints key information fast, saves time. It also deals with the problem of poor handwriting or “using” pens that don’t work. But the point here is about accuracy and clarity. Customers increasingly want clarity. This is what printers provide.

When it comes to OOH deliveries and the use of collection points or parcel lockers, are these locations equipped with reliable printing technologies? Kiosk printers embedded into these lockers and locations must be autonomous. Printing paper needs to last a long time, reliability is crucial too and so is longevity. Standard click and collect collection points require receipt printers that are similar to those used at checkout stations. Similarly, are they reliable, can they cope with volumes of printing without causing queues to halt? Are paper rolls easily interchangeable here (and in kiosks)? At the last mile, printing forms a vital component of the delivery strategy. It offers many brands the opportunity to close the loop on customer service and to cement loyalty into the hearts and minds of shoppers. Brands neglect this at their peril.

Conclusion

Today, according to Salesforce, 95 percent of ecommerce professionals say that customer service drives revenue, and that 74% of customers expect online capabilities to match in-person and phone service. On that basis alone, if the final piece of the ecommerce delivery jigsaw lets a brand down due to an illegible handwritten customer delivery note, or a kiosk printer at an OOH delivery pick up point fails to print a receipt, it stands to reason that future revenue from customers could be lost. Or that customers might choose to shop elsewhere.

Alongside this, retailers and ecommerce brands continue to operate in uncertain times. Many factors, such as the impact of the ‘Strait of Hormuz’, are outside of their control. However, what they can do is control – as best they can – how they communicate with their customers at all stages of delivery. Irrespective of whether parcels are delivered to the home or OOH delivery locations, customers expect transparent, clear and professional communication.

With all the technology available to retailers and ecommerce brands, and all the hard work that has likely been carried out to secure a sale, there is really no reason at all to accidentally upset the customer experience and cause friction at the final parcel delivery moment. Failure at this last point jeopardises ongoing longevity and brand loyalty, impacting future purchases.