From mobile phones to tablets, laptops and more, electronic devices are becoming an increasingly prevalent part of all our lives, and one of the main things Brits use their electronic gadgets for is online shopping… for even more electronic gadgets!
Unsurprisingly, the electronics retailer industry has become extremely competitive, with big name brands like Dell, Apple and more battling to win over consumers. As well as differentiating their products by their technological features, one of the big ways that these brands try to stand out to consumers is by offering the most attractive delivery and returns policies.
With this in mind, the online shopping and e-commerce experts at Webretailer.com have completed a comprehensive study that delves into the world of electronics brands, identifying those that have risen above the rest by offering the best delivery and returns policies in the UK.
Top 10: Electronics brands have the best delivery and returns policies in the UK
In first place was electronics giant Dell, scoring 72.8/100 overall. Dell’s impressive offer of free next-day delivery (despite the fact that its competitors all charge for it) played a big part in achieving this impressive score.
As a result, Dell scored 10/10 in this category, setting it up as a firm leader. The minimum spend for free delivery is also free (10/10), while standard delivery – which is also free – takes a very speedy 1 day (10/10).
Apple took second place with 69.2/100 overall. With free next-day delivery, Apple was revealed to be one of the cheapest of all the brands analysed – undercutting ninth-placed John Lewis at £7.50 and tenth-placed AO’s average cost of £6.00.
Apple also managed to gain some customer satisfaction with its 1-2 day delivery wait time, scoring it 7.8/10. When it came to how long customers had to return items, both Apple and Dell only offered a disappointing 14 days – scoring both brands 0/10 in this segment. In fact, only John Lewis received full marks in this category, by offering customers 35 days to return an item and scoring 10/10.
Finally, in third place was Debenhams, with 64/100. Despite the fact that Debenhams is now exclusively online (after being acquired by Boohoo in 2021), it still triumphs over electronic retailers that continue to operate on the high street such as Currys (50.1) and John Lewis (44.4).
Debenhams demands a fairly pricey £5.49 for next-day delivery (4.4/10) while also asking for a minimum spend of £15.00 for free delivery, scoring it 8.3/10. While this is not an unreasonable amount to ask for, it cannot compete with Dell and Apple having no minimum cost at all.
As well as this, Debenhams has a rather extensive 5-7 day waiting period for standard delivery items – meaning it scored an unremarkable 0/10 for this section. Its standard delivery cost was also £3.99, allowing it to obtain only 2.9/10 in this category.
