£250m worth of online shopping did not reach consumer last year

More than £250 million worth of online shopping is estimated to have gone missing or not been delivered to shoppers in the UK in the last year, research shows.

Around 3.6 million Brits have had packages they ordered online go missing in the last year, while more than 18 million people have had packages go missing or undelivered in the last five years, worth an average £68 per package, according to Direct Line Home Insurance.

One in five (22%) shoppers have had more than one package go missing in the last five years, while one in 20 have had five or more packages undelivered, the study found.

The company, who said 89% of UK adults now shop online, found that for one in 10 online shoppers the average value of their absent package was £300.50.

The survey of 2,011 people suggests that more than 12 million UK adults deliberately ask for their packages not to be left with a neighbour.

While 45% say this is because they do not want to burden their neighbour with their packages, others (14%) either do not get on with their neighbour or do not trust their neighbour (14%).

More than two million (5%) adults explicitly request that delivery drivers do not leave their packages with a specific neighbour they do not trust or get on with, the company said.

Nearly two million people have had problems leaving packages with neighbours in the past, the research suggests.

Incidents include neighbours refusing to take in their packages (8%), taking in a package and denying it (7%) or refusing to give their package (5%).

Direct Line said Opinium Research interviewed a UK nationally representative sample of 2,011 people.

The insurance company said 728 out of 2,011 have had packages go missing, adding that as a percentage of the population this equates to 18,429,514 people.

It said that 496 out of 2011 asked for packages not to be left with neighbours, adding that as a percentage of the population this equates to 12,556,368 people.