New research has revealed the U.S. states losing the most packages, with Maryland coming out on top.
The study by location intelligence experts Loqate analyzed Google searches in each US state for terms related to lost packages to see which U.S. states are losing the most packages. Example terms include the likes of ‘lost package’ and any relevant customer service queries for couriers.
It found that the mid-Atlantic state of Maryland is the US state losing the most packages. There are around 609,688 monthly searches for lost package-related search terms for a population of 6,164,660, equating to around 9,890 searches per 100,000 people. ‘USPS tracking’ was the most popular search term in the state, making up 276,750 of monthly searches.
Indiana takes ninth on the list. In the state, there are around 459,220 lost package-related searches each month on average, which, when accounted for a population of 6,833,037, means there are 6,271 searches per 100,000 people.
Kansas takes second on the list, with the midwestern state coming in with around 271,333 lost package-related searches a month on average. When accounted for a population of 2,937,150 people, this comes out to 9,238 searches per 100,000 people.
Coming in third place is the state of Nevada. The state has around 254,485 searches for lost package-related terms a month for a population of 3,177,772 people, equivalent to 8,008 searches per 100,000 people. A commonly searched term in the state was ‘FedEx tracking’, which made up 73,375 of all monthly searches.
Oklahoma takes fourth place on the list, with an average of 320,148 lost package-related searches in the state each month. When accounted for a population of 4,019,800, this is equivalent to 7,964 searches per 100,000 people. ‘Amazon customer service’ was a commonly searched term in the state, with around 12,867 monthly searches.
Rounding out the top five is the state of South Carolina. It has around 7,920 searches for lost package related terms per 100,000 people, due to about 418,363 searches on average monthly for a population of 5,282,634.
| Rank | State | Monthly searches related to lost packages | Population | Searches per 100k people |
| 1 | Maryland | 609,688 | 6,164,660 | 9,890 |
| 2 | Kansas | 271,333 | 2,937,150 | 9,238 |
| 3 | Nevada | 254,485 | 3,177,772 | 8,008 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 320,148 | 4,019,800 | 7,964 |
| 5 | South Carolina | 418,363 | 5,282,634 | 7,920 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | 963,858 | 12,972,008 | 7,430 |
| 7 | Missouri | 449,393 | 6,177,957 | 7,274 |
| 8 | Connecticut | 247,755 | 3,626,205 | 6,832 |
| 9 | Indiana | 459,220 | 6,833,037 | 6,721 |
| 10 | Arkansas | 201,733 | 3,045,637 | 6,624 |
Commenting on the findings, Michelle Moses, Director of Sales & Partnerships at Loqate said: “There are many frustrating reasons for packages being lost on both the side of the consumer and courier, and things like human error, misdelivery, a wrong address or even theft can all contribute. Our studies show that 39% of consumers said they wouldn’t purchase from a retailer if a package wasn’t delivered on time for the holidays, which highlights how important it is to ensure courier issues are kept to a minimum.”
