The Parcel Report 2025 offers one of the clearest insights yet into delivery performance across the UK’s fast-growing e-commerce sector. The national conversation has already begun, including significant coverage on ITV News, which highlighted the record number of delivery issues affecting shoppers across the UK.
We were delighted to welcome ITV News to our brand-new We Are Fulfilment hub in Nottingham to discuss the findings of the report and what they mean for the e-commerce brands we work with every day. The conversation focused on how this data affects real businesses, real customers and real growth potential across the sector.
The scale and longevity of these issues matter, not only for consumers but for the fast-growing number of brands relying on parcel networks to meet rising customer expectations. With nearly two hundred thousand e-commerce businesses now trading in the UK, the environment is more competitive, more dynamic and more sensitive to delivery performance than at any point in the last decade.
At We Are Fulfilment, we ship tens of thousands of orders every month. The findings in this report echo what we see across the industry. Delivery networks are sophisticated, but the pressure on them is increasing. The brands that thrive will be the ones who invest in transparency, technology and smarter fulfilment partnerships.
Below is our view of the report, the wider e-commerce implications and how we are using data and technology to help our partners stay ahead.
Citizens Advice’s research shows:
Fifteen million people experienced a problem with their most recent parcel delivery
Delivery issues remain at the highest level since the league table began
Royal Mail takes the top position with 3.25 stars
Evri shows slight improvement, while Yodel remains the lowest scoring carrier
Accessibility support has declined
Drivers leaving before customers reach the door remains common
Nearly half of people who report a problem experience a second issue when trying to resolve the first
These findings were reinforced in ITV’s coverage of the report, which featured examples of parcels left in insecure locations, tracking information falling short and customers struggling to reach the right support channels. The piece emphasised that the issue is less about individual delivery mistakes and more about the systemic pressures created by rising volumes.
For anyone who hasn’t seen the ITV article, you can read the full story here:
https://www.itv.com/news/2025-11-19/worst-delivery-firms-revealed-as-parcel-problems-reach-record-high
This report, combined with the wider media attention, helps us see the landscape clearly. The sector is not deteriorating, but nor is it improving. Instead it is sitting at a point of significant pressure and transition.
Consumers do not distinguish between the retailer and the carrier. A delivery issue becomes a brand issue. The report highlights several risks brands should consider:
Rising parcel volumes mean greater strain on networks
Customer patience is shortening around poor communication
Accessibility failures can damage brand trust
Weather disruption, peak season and external network pressure all amplify risk
Refunds, replacements and WISMO demand increase operational costs
Complaints journeys often push customers back to the retailer, not the carrier
This means fulfilment performance, tracking accuracy, communication clarity and proactive issue management are becoming central pillars of the brand experience.
For brands scaling quickly, the delivery experience is just as important as the product experience.
At We Are Fulfilment, we design our operation around transparency, not assumptions. Carrier networks are robust but they are not flawless. What matters is how quickly we can see an issue and how clearly we can communicate it to the brands we work with.
Here is how we do that.
We surface daily carrier performance inside our operation so we understand:
Network slowdowns
Regional delays
Weather impact
Depot issues
Tracking anomalies
Predicted backlogs or high-volume days
Our internal dashboards allow us to flag issues before customers feel them. If a carrier is experiencing strain in a specific region, we know about it early and help partners manage customer expectations. We're about to launch a major overhaul of this for 2026 which we're excited to share with our partners soon.
The future of fulfilment is the meeting point between physical operations and intelligent systems. That is where we are investing.
Rabot brings advanced vision technology into our packing benches. It helps us reduce human error by visually verifying the accuracy of picked and packed orders. This improves consistency and reduces mispicks and incorrect items arriving with customers.
Octup is launching imminently and will give WAF partners:
Live SLA reporting
Stock accuracy
Order status and throughput
Courier performance
Cost-to-serve and fulfilment flow insight
Real-time error reporting
For brands, this turns fulfilment from a black box into a transparent, measurable system.
In recent months we have hired our first AI-focused specialist to accelerate how we use data to benefit partners. This includes forecasting, network intelligence, anomaly detection and more live operational visibility.
Before building WAF, we were e-commerce founders. We built three brands, scaled fast and felt every operational tension this report describes. That lived experience is why we approach fulfilment differently:
We know what it feels like when customers want answers
We know the pressure of keeping up with demand
We know how damaging delivery issues can be for a brand
We built this business as a response to the gaps we once felt ourselves
This informs every decision we make.
Read more about our fulfilment services here:
The Citizens Advice report is not a crisis. It is a clear, data-backed insight into the state of parcel delivery at a time when the UK e-commerce market is expanding rapidly. It reinforces the need for:
Better visibility
Better communication
Better data
Better operational alignment across fulfilment and carriers
At We Are Fulfilment, our goal is to help brands navigate this landscape with clarity and confidence. Technology, transparency and intelligent fulfilment processes are the difference between reactive service and proactive growth.
You can read the full report here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk
As parcel volumes rise, so does the opportunity. The brands that invest in visibility and control will win loyalty, even when the network is under strain.
If you would like to understand more about how we support partners with carrier insight, AI capability and data-driven fulfilment, we would be happy to talk.
We Are Fulfilment can help supercharge your eCom with tailored solutions designed for your needs.
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We Are Fulfilment can help supercharge your eCom with tailored solutions designed for your needs.
Please fill out the information opposite, so we can understand how best we could work with you.
The We Are Fulfilment team are available weekdays 8am-5pm.