Retailers lose more in parcel claims than they save by cutting 5p
Retailers risk losing far more in potential parcel claims than they save by shaving 5p off each delivery across 100,000 shipments, according to Claimit's analysis. Claimit found that during last year’s peak period 1.5% of parcels generated a claim while volumes rose 2.5 times, meaning possible compensation could reach £37,500—over seven times the £5,000 saved by a 5p rate cut.
Courier liability caps limit payouts to as little as £25 per parcel, so even successful claims return only a fraction of the lost goods’ retail value. In one case, Claimit recovered £2.5 million in credits for parcels worth £16 million, representing less than 16% of that value. The platform automates claims, boosting success rates from 13% to over 70% and cutting manual processing time by up to 80%. Hundreds of retail brands use Claimit to connect directly with their CRM and ecommerce systems for real‑time visibility over lost, damaged and mis‑invoiced parcels.
“Retailers are under enormous pressure to take cost out of every parcel, so shaving a few pence off the delivery rate can understandably look attractive. But the cost of delivery is only one part of the process of getting an order to a customer. Even when retailers retain their claims rights, liability caps mean the credit they receive can be only a fraction of the retail value that has disappeared from the business. That makes those claims rights valuable. If you then give up the ability to recover £20 or £25 when something goes wrong in exchange for saving two, three or five pence on every delivery, that saving can very quickly become a false economy,” Andy Watson, co-founder, Claimit said.
Claimit is the first dedicated courier claims platform and is used by hundreds of retail brands to identify and recover money owed on lost, damaged and incorrectly invoiced parcels. Claimit automates the process of claiming for lost and damaged items, connecting directly with retailers’ CRM and ecommerce systems.
What we know
A reduction of five pence per parcel would save £5,000 across 100,000 deliveries.
Claimit’s analysis during last year’s peak period found that 1.5% of parcels shipped generated a claim, while parcel volumes increased 2.5 times compared with off-peak.
With courier payouts capped as low as £25 per parcel, those claims could represent up to £37,500 in potential compensation, more than 7 times the savings made on the delivery rate.
Claimit has found that automation can increase claim success from 13% to over 70% and cut manual processing time by as much as 80%.
In one example, Claimit recovered £2.5 million in courier credits over a year, despite the parcels involved representing £16 million in retail value.