We’re into the final delivery stretch before Christmas, with volumes still running high and demand shifting towards next-day and premium delivery options.
While the headline surge from Black Friday and Cyber Monday has eased, delivery networks continue to operate at elevated volumes as retailers and consumers shift their focus to delivery certainty. With Christmas Day falling mid-week, the coming days will be critical for maintaining service performance, managing cut-off expectations and responding quickly to any disruption.
Consumer behaviour has now firmly transitioned from deal-driven shopping to delivery-led decision-making. Shoppers are prioritising speed, reliability and clarity at checkout, with next-day and premium delivery options becoming increasingly popular as Christmas approaches.
While the key peak weeks have now passed, overall parcel volumes continue to run significantly above the annual average and are more than 10% higher than in the same week last year. A further reduction in volumes is anticipated this week. However, the delivery profile is expected to shift as the week progresses, with both retailers and consumers expected to select more next-day delivery options to ensure pre-Christmas deliveries.
Despite easing volumes, cost pressures remain elevated across the delivery landscape. Premium delivery selections, weather-related disruption and postcode-specific spikes are all contributing to operational complexity in the final days before Christmas.
You can read the full GFS Peak Bulletin Issue 4 on the GFS website.
