7-minute read
Finding a company to deliver your products that’s reliable, cost-effective, and fast is essential for any online business.
But there’s a lot of competition out there, so if you’re wondering what’s the best delivery courier in the UK, read our round-up to help you find what’s right for your small business.
Some delivery services have a better reputation, while others encourage you to sign up to an account to access cheaper rates. Many of these companies also offer delivery to parcel lockers in retail shops, making the process super simple for your customers.
To help you decide what’s best for your online shop, first think about these questions:
Compare pros, cons, pricing, and features to find the best courier for small business owners below.
Courier service | Starting price |
Royal Mail | £3.19 |
Amazon Logistics | |
DPD | £3.99 |
DHL Parcel UK | £2.79 |
Parcelforce | £8.70 |
UPS | £5.99 |
Evri (Hermes) | £2.99 |
Yodel | £2.42 |
If you’re sending parcels regularly within the UK, chances are that Royal Mail shipping services are one of the most affordable and reliable options. Although prices for parcels and stamps are likely to rise, according to the Guardian.
What's more, if you have an online marketplace like Etsy then you can buy and print postage labels straight from the platform, so all you need to do is drop your parcel off at the post office to get proof of postage.
Key features:
Selling your products on Amazon? Amazon Logistics is frequently rated one of the best courier companies thanks to their reliable and fast delivery service. Earlier this year it was voted the best courier by MoneySavingExpert.com users.
Key features:
Read more: A quick guide to selling on Amazon in the UK
DPD offers a next-day delivery service across the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world.
While not the cheapest service out there, it was voted first place in a MoneySavingExpert.com user poll of parcel firms in 2024.
DPD also advertises ‘clean, green delivery’ across the UK with an expanding fleet of electric vehicles, and a drive to do more for the environment.
Key features:
DHL delivers in the UK and internationally. They offer multi-parcel discounts and there’s no minimum order requirement, so you don’t have to worry about meeting certain order quantities to have an account with them.
Key features:
Parcelforce delivers across the UK and to more than 240 countries worldwide. They recommend you open a business account if you’re posting parcels more than once a week, which gives you 45 per cent off standard prices.
Key features:
When it comes to shipping with UPS, you can choose a service based on how often you send parcels. If you need to post several items a week, UPS recommends you open a payment account. This way you’ll be billed weekly, have access to tracking information, and simplify any returns for your customers.
Key features:
Hermes rebranded to Evri in March 2022, although the timing of this has been questioned as it followed negative press about poor customer service and mishandling parcels.
But with prices starting at £2.99, it’s also one of the cheapest couriers so it’s a popular option with online sellers. If you send parcels a few times a week you can unlock tailored pricing and signed-for delivery by opening an Evri business account.
Key features:
With Yodel Direct you can send parcels to customers at home, or at a nominated store. However, a 2002 Which? survey of shoppers last year found Yodel to have the lowest customer satisfaction score. Prices start at £2.42 though, so it could be a question of balancing price with quality of service here.
Key features:
You may have also heard of CollectPlus, but they’re no longer making their own deliveries. They still offer collection and drop-off services for other delivery companies though.
Other smaller couriers do exist too. But whichever service you choose, it’s always worth getting feedback from your customers on their delivery experience so you can keep them happy every step of the way.
Sometimes parcels go missing – in fact, the UK saw the number of claims for missing parcels rise by 59 per cent in the year to June 2023 compared with the previous 12 months. As a small business owner, lost or missing parcels can have a major effect on your business.
While there’s no sure way to avoid your parcels going missing, here are a couple of ways you and your customers can try to avoid missing parcels:
If your customer says they haven’t received their order, don’t panic and follow these simple steps:
The first thing to do is double check with the customer if their order details are correct. Maybe there was a typo in the address line, or the order was sent to the billing address rather than the delivery address. Confirming with your customer that the correct delivery address was entered will help troubleshoot the problem.
Double check there are no strikes going on that could have caused a delay in posting, or see if your chosen courier has announced any known delays. Even if there haven’t been any announcements, sometimes delays do happen. Tell your customer to wait a few days – after all, the parcel may still turn up.
If you’ve worked out that the problem isn’t on your customer’s end, the next step is to contact your courier. They may be able to locate your parcel in the system or, at the very least, confirm that the order has been lost.
Customer service is key, so once you know the order has gone missing, it’s best to get in touch with your customer straight away to let them know. You can offer a refund or replacement – and perhaps offer to send the next order with a tracked service if this wasn’t used before. This can offer peace of mind to your customer, as well as build a reputation as a considerate brand.
Even if your parcel does arrive, sometimes your customer may need to submit a return, which is included as part of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
And if you’re selling online, you’ll also need to be aware of distance selling regulations, which gives consumers a 14-day ‘cooling off period’ as part of most distance and off-premises contracts. During the cooling off period, a customer can cancel for any reason and get their money back.
Outside of these regulations, you have no legal obligation to offer returns. Business Companion states that, when it comes to returns policies, ‘the best notice is no notice’ – meaning you don’t need to list a returns policy unless you’re offering more than the minimum entitlement. And that if you are offering more than those requirements, it’s always a good idea to say something like ‘this policy is offered in addition to your legal rights'.
If you do decide to build on the standard minimum returns policy, some things you can consider including in your policy are:
You don’t need to offer a return when the customer:
No matter which courier you choose, one way you can make sure your package stays safe in transit is to properly package any orders you send out. Some ways you can help keep your items safe include:
But remember that this is also the perfect opportunity to embrace your branding. Whether it’s branded boxes or you include logo stickers and business cards, you can use your packaging as another marketing tool.
There are also sustainable packaging options to use if this is important to you as a small business owner (or your customers).
Who do you think’s the best courier for a small business? Let us know your experience in the comments section below.
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Start your quoteWritten by
Rosanna Parrish
Rosanna Parrish is a Copywriter at Simply Business, specialising in legal and HR content. Trained at London College of Communication, she has been creating content professionally for eight years at publications across the UK and Spain. Starting her career in health insurance, she also worked in education marketing before returning to the insurance world. Rosanna also writes about wellbeing in the workplace. She lives by the sea and does her best writing in coffee shops.
We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always take professional advice. Read our full disclaimer
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