Ms. Mavi Silveira reports

DESCARTES' ANNUAL ECOMMERCE STUDY SHOWS YOUNGER CONSUMERS DRIVING ONLINE BUYING GROWTH -- BUT 79% HAVE EXPERIENCED DELIVERY PROBLEMS

The Descartes Systems Group Inc. has released findings from How Smarter Home Delivery Wins Younger Consumers as Online Buying Slows, its fourth annual consumer sentiment study of e-commerce home delivery. The study shows that, in a slower-growing e-commerce market, consumers aged 18 to 35 (under 35s) are the biggest contributor to on-line growth, increasing both the volume and frequency of their purchases over the past 12 months compared with the prior year. While 18 per cent of overall consumers surveyed cut back on purchases during this period, 43 per cent of under 35s increased their spending year-on-year compared with just 32 per cent of over 65s.

In addition, this year's survey found that 44 per cent of under 35s made on-line purchases at least every two weeks -- a significant jump over last year's 33 per cent. For the younger demographic, however, their levels of dissatisfaction with home delivery remain high, with a significant 79 per cent reportedly experiencing delivery problems compared with 66 per cent of overall consumers surveyed.

Moreover, for each delivery problem detailed in the survey, under 35s reported a higher percentage of negative experiences than overall respondents. Conversely, over 65s reported a lower percentage of negative experiences than all respondents. Not only is the younger demographic the cohort driving growth in on-line purchasing, it also appears to be the group with the highest expectations for positive delivery experiences.

"The bottom-line impact of negative delivery experiences remains a pressing concern for retailers and their delivery partners, especially with the pace of e-commerce growth steadying postpandemic," said Mavi Silveira, senior vice-president of global marketing at Descartes. "While small improvements in home-delivery performance have been made over the past few years, they're not currently reflecting the quality experience consumers are demanding, especially the valuable under-35 cohort, as poor delivery experiences risks the potential lifetime customer value of this demographic."

Descartes and Sapio Research surveyed 8,000 consumers in Europe and North America on their e-commerce buying behaviour during the first three months of 2025. The goal was to gain a comprehensive view of the state of e-commerce and home-delivery performance by understanding, for example, the reasons for increases or decreases in e-commerce purchases, the different types of goods purchased, the frequency of purchases, delivery preferences, delivery experiences, and the impact of delivery failures on retailers and their delivery agents. The study also examines how consumer behaviours and perceptions vary across demographics.

About The Descartes Systems Group Inc.

Descartes is the global leader in providing on-demand, software-as-a-service solutions focused on improving the productivity, security and sustainability of logistics-intensive businesses. Customers use the company's modular, software-as-a-service solutions to: route, track, and help improve the safety, performance and compliance of delivery resources; plan, allocate and execute shipments; rate, audit and pay transportation invoices; access global trade data; file customs and security documents for imports and exports; and complete numerous other logistics processes by participating in the world's largest collaborative multimodal logistics community. The company is headquartered in Waterloo, Ont., Canada, and it has offices and partners around the world.

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