Parcel volumes were lagging previous years in the run up to Cyber Week, but MetaPack‘s Peak Tracker reveals record Cyber Week volumes of parcels shipped exceeding the past four years.
Based on shipments of millions of parcels, Metapack track shipments through their label software and a sharp rise in parcels over the past week (up to the 25th December) shows that the Peak season is well under way.
Don’t expect things to ease off however, consumers will receive their final pay cheque before Christmas in time for this coming weekend and online sales are expected to hit their peak in the next fortnight. Whilst the high streets will be ram packed as Christmas shopping starts in earnest, the weather is against the bricks and mortar retailers with storm Diana already hitting the British Isles bringing 70mph gales and three inches of rain.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning across much of the UK with warnings of power cuts and fallen trees and this could tempt even more shoppers to stay at home and turn to a bit of online shopping. The worst of the weather is forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, Friday will be brighter but colder with blustery showers. Winds will be less strong into the weekend but more rain is likely, particularly in the south and west.
Naturally the weather will impact courier deliveries as drivers are forced to drive slower in the windy, rainy conditions, but you should also be prepared in your warehouse to keep the doors shut, expect inclement weather if you have stock deliveries arriving and it’s unlikely you’ll be able to leave overflow outgoing mail bags and boxes outside awaiting collection – make sure you can clear extra space in your goods out area to hold your largest shipping volumes of the year.
With Christmas Day falling on a Tuesday, it’s likely that shopping will continue right up to the last minute this year with shoppers still buying online until Friday the 21st of December. It’s time to start publicising your Christmas shipping cut off dates as some consumers may buy on the final weekend expecting deliveries on the Monday, having been brain washed by Amazon into thinking that all retailers can ship on Saturdays and Sundays for next day delivery.
