ParcelHero: demand is there for deliveries on Christmas Day
New research from home delivery specialist ParcelHero reveals there is a significant demand for deliveries on Christmas Day itself: and 20% of shoppers would pay up to £5 extra for a December 25th delivery.
From ASOS to Amazon to Argos, many retailers were pushing their Christmas online order dates right up to Christmas Eve last year. ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks MILT, reveals: “Last year Brits spent £1 billion online on Christmas Day. For the first time a number of online retailers reported taking more orders on Christmas Day than Boxing Day, the traditional start of the sales season. Several retailers actually kicked-off their sales on the 25th; but not one retailer actually delivers items on the big day.”
David observes: “Already food delivery companies such as Uber Eats and Just Eats are offering Christmas Day deliveries; so the next obvious step is online same-day deliveries on the 25th itself. And nearly 20% of shoppers told us they would pay up to £5 extra for a Christmas Day delivery if it got them out of an embarrassing situation or enabled them to spend gift vouchers and get their items immediately.”
David says: “ParcelHero’s renowned Christmas deadlines tool gives all the major stores’ final order dates; some of which are as late as the 24th. But there are several good reasons why customers told us they would want the option of a Christmas Day delivery. For example, some respondents told us they had been presented with unexpected gifts on the day in the past, with nothing to hand over in return. How much embarrassment could be saved if they were able to say, “Yours is just about to arrive”? And several shoppers told us that their children had been left disappointed on Christmas Day because they had been bought the wrong toy or were forgotten by a relative. A same-day order would soon restore the Christmas spirit.”
But David says there is an elephant in the room when it comes to Christmas deliveries. “Who would want to be out delivering on the 25th? Changing retail customs on sensitive days is a delicate issue. When John Major’s Government introduced Sunday trading back in 1994 it was highly controversial, but consumers eventually embraced Sunday shopping; perhaps the same will hold true for Christmas Day deliveries? Not everyone in the UK takes part in Christian festivals, for example; while other distribution centre workers and drivers might be grateful to avoid reruns of Jingle All the Way and earn what would presumably be a significant bonus for delivering on Christmas Day itself.”
