Black Friday is one of the major shopping events of the year, kicking off the busy festive season. For many ecommerce sellers, the period from Black Friday leading into Christmas is the absolute peak for traffic and sales. With around 3 million parcels sent each November, Parcel2Go‘s retro on Black Friday 2024 offers unique insights into the busiest online shopping season.
Which couriers are most-used? Should you prioritise next day delivery? How much competition do your products really have?
Your parcel shipping process can be a key pillar in customer satisfaction, so you should prioritise providing a delivery process that is watertight. Already trusted by thousands of businesses across the UK, Parcel2Go offers the cheapest shipping costs and free shipping management software, Smart Send, to save time and money when shipping parcels in bulk.
We’ve collated the most telling stats and trends from Black Friday 2023 and 2024 to see what we can learn from the busy festive season. All data has been collected from the Parcel2Go Group websites.
Most popular couriers for Black Friday 2023 & 2024
In 2023, the most parcels were shipped with Yodel and Evri. In 2024, Evri and Royal Mail were preferred by Parcel2Go customers.
The rise of Evri’s popularity is likely due to low costs and broad range of services – with affordable postable and next day delivery services available. Given the current economy, many businesses have had to prioritise price, so switching to the cheaper option in the market might have reduced overall business costs.
With Royal Mail, brand recognition goes a long way in building trust between the courier and its shippers. This alongside offering collection services at no extra cost from drop off delivery, means that both price and trust play a large role in Royal Mail’s boom in the online shipping market.
Shipping times: how fast were parcels delivered?
In November 2024, 20% of all parcels were shipped with next day delivery – a 3% increase from 2023.
It’s estimated that over half of shoppers in the UK would spend more to receive purchases on the same day or guaranteed next day. And with 1 out of every 5 parcels delivered the next day, it goes to show that offering short delivery times isn’t competitive, it’s just expected.
With retail giants like Amazon dominating with next day delivery, providing your customers with the option of faster shipping is a no-brainer. For Black Friday 2024, the most used next day delivery services came from Evri, UPS, and Royal Mail – with the most booked next day deliveries shipped via drop off delivery. Express collection services were mostly booked through UPS and Parcelforce. This is similar to Black Friday 2023, however Royal Mail replaced FedEx in the top 3 – likely due to the former’s low costs.
Most popular courier service – Collection vs. Drop Off
In both November 2023 and 2024, around 73% of all parcels were shipped through drop off delivery. As drop off services tend to be cheaper, this shows that price is consistently an important factor for shippers.
With tens of thousands drop shops across the UK, drop off services have proven to be more practical for senders wanting extra flexibility around when they send. Many businesses get to know their local drop off point well, and find they can fit the parcel drop in around their own lives, such as on the school run.
The most popular drop off services in both years were brought from the most price-competitive couriers – including Evri, Yodel Direct, and Royal Mail.
But that doesn’t mean that price wasn’t a factor for those booking collection services, as Evri and Royal Mail were among the most popular door-to-door delivery options too. And consistently in 2023 and 2024, UPS and Parcelforce were next in line when it came to premium collection services.
Which items were shipped the most?
Understanding seasonal item popularity can help you see how saturated the market is for the items you’re shipping. This also gives us insight into the sort of items that customers are buying around Black Friday, suggesting that these items are reduced in price this time of year.
Across both 2023 and 2024, books were among commonly shipped items in November, but also year round. Despite this, the amount of shipped parcels containing books decreased by over 17,000 units year on year.
Other often-sent items included everyday items such as dresses and stationery – although there were around 10,000 fewer dresses shipped through the Parcel2Go Group ahead of Black Friday 2024 compared to 2023. And while t-shirts, tops and shirts were in the top 5 most commonly shipped items from June to October, they dropped out of the top 10 in November 2024, ahead of Black Friday. This suggests that items that grew in popularity, such as prints, stationary, and merch, are more commonly reduced and/or bought as gifts around Black Friday than clothing items.
Items that increased in popularity from 2023 to 2024 were stationary such as pens and pencils, and animated merchandise, like action figures and posters.
Where were most parcels sent?
Most parcels were shipped within the UK in both 2023 and 2024, with around 94% of parcels being sent domestically both years.
Yet there were still hundreds of thousands of parcels shipped internationally in November 2023, rising by 2% ahead of Black Friday 2024. A 16% increase in parcels shipped to the USA, as well as increased shipping to Canada and Australia, shows that overseas postage is becoming more accessible for both consumers and businesses. This might be helpful insight for UK-based businesses, as easier transatlantic shipping could open up an entirely new market for your products.
While there was a decrease in shipping to Europe directly after Brexit came into effect in 2020, parcel deliveries to Europe have gradually increased, with healthy growth from November 2023 to 2024.
This consistent growth in UK to Europe shipping year on year suggests that businesses who choose to ship overseas are continuing to do so even with the current economic landscape and costs being tighter.
After navigating the turbulence of post-Brexit uncertainties, international shipping is once again in growth, proving that resilience and adaptation can turn challenges into new opportunities.
Parcel2Go’s DDP [Delivery Duty Paid] delivery remains a top choice for occasional senders and mSMEs, with its enhanced on-time delivery performance and overall improved customer experience proving essential for shippers seeking reliability and efficiency in their shipping solutions.”
– Ashley Taylor, Commercial Director, Parcel2Go
How Parcel2Go can support business shipping
As the UK’s leading courier comparison site, Parcel2Go is proud to support businesses with their parcel delivery year round and through peak periods such as Black Friday. Our aim is to make parcel delivery faster and cheaper, so you can focus on the parts of your business that count.
With a host of free business tools, such as shipping management software Smart Send, you can streamline your business shipping to save time and money on parcel delivery.
Not only do we offer the cheapest shipping prices, but we can also help you understand the shipping world. For example, our International Shipping Hub is an in-depth resource for businesses shipping to the EU – including information on VAT rates, customs declarations, and the payment of import fees.We offer valuable insight into the parcel delivery market, so you know where you fit in and understand the best approach to shipping for your business.
