A new poll from YouGov has revealed that 56 per cent of Brits who have made a purchase  online in the last year encountered an issue with at least one aspect of the process, according to the International Business Times.

This represents a small but worrying rise in the number of reported problems, since the same study conducted in 2016 found that 53 per cent had suffered some form of e-commerce setback. Meanwhile in 2015 things were even better, with 47 per cent admitting that their online experience had been less than perfect.

Items being delivered later than expected was the most common reason for complaint, while 25 per cent of people who had experienced a setback said that the products they had ordered did not arrive at all.

The good news is that most of these issues are eliminated when choosing to use click and collect services, with complaints about this delivery option falling over the past 12 months.

Report spokesperson, Jason Shorrock, said that the results not only reflected the need for retailers to do more to address consumer concerns; they also indicate that shopper expectations are growing rapidly, leaving little room for or acceptance of errors.

A quarter of those questioned said that they return at least three items they ordered via safe shopping online in the course of an average year, which could be another indicator as to how dissatisfaction is spreading. And although some people use returns policies to give products a test run, the biggest reason given for sending back an item was that it did not match expectations.

Industry experts believe that retailers need to get better at handling returns while also optimising deliveries, so that customer satisfaction can be improved.