Customers are spending £4.9 billion less online because there is a lack of delivery options, according to a new study.

Online delivery service Stuart has predicted that customers would spend an average of £168 per person more if retailers offered better delivery options in its new Untapped Goldmine study.

The study also found that eight out of 10 people switch away from their preferred high street name if the company doesn’t offer their favourite delivery options.

Just over a third of those surveyed also said that they would always choose a retailer that offers same-day delivery over one that doesn’t.

 “The findings highlight a growing need to address convenience in the last mile of the customer journey: delivery,” Stuart UK managing director David Saenz said.

“Too often convenient delivery – and returns – are being considered a ‘nice to have’, not a necessity, by high street brands.

“Online shoppers, however, view delivery as the lynch pin when it comes to their brand loyalty. In five years’ time, instantaneous delivery and returns will be mainstream.

“The retailers who invest in this now will not only be winning the race for consumer loyalty but will also reap the financial rewards that come with it.”