Highlands & Islands will benefit from online pricing map

In its efforts to reduce unjust delivery practices, the Scottish Government commissioned Alma Economics to determine when and where delivery charges are unfair.

In its findings, the study found that people living in the Highlands & Islands face 21 per cent higher postal charges on average compared to South Western Scotland.

The analysis also found that if you live in the Outer Hebrides, Shetland or Orkney, residents face average surcharges of at least 25 per cent compared to Glasgow and have virtually no access to home delivery.

Supporting the Scottish Government’s recent efforts, Maree Todd MSP said: “Too often residents across the Highlands & Islands are faced with unfair delivery charges.

“I very much welcome the launch of The Parcel Delivery Map & Interactive Data Hub which will help increase transparency around delivery costs in Scotland.”

Users can use the new online tool to benchmark delivery prices paid against Scotland-wide average, track pricing discrepancies across postcodes, and find additional resources to explore unjust delivery pricing.

Last week, retail giant Argos announced that it will deliver large items to over 98 per cent of residents on the main Scottish Islands.

This new service will bring Argos deliveries to 41,000 more homes and another 56 islands, including Shetland, Orkney, the Inner Hebrides and the Western Islands.

This builds on its pre-existing delivery service for smaller items on the islands and large items to the Isle of Skye & the Highlands.

Ms Todd continued: “It’s encouraging to see retailers, like Argos, working to eliminate disparities in its home delivery service and extending their delivery options to the islands.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been responsible for a dramatic increase in online sales across the country, this has worked to highlight the inequalities in delivery prices which we know are mostly felt in the rural and remote locations across the Highlands & Islands.”

She added: “I hope to see more retailers follow in the footsteps of Argos as people across the Highlands & Islands deserve fair delivery prices, not discriminatory pricing models.”

Visit www.fairdeliveries.scot to view The Parcel Delivery Map & Interactive Data Hub.