Figures confirm record volumes from festive internet shopping

Parcel delivery firms around the world have been contending with record volumes over the festive season, driven by major growth in internet shopping and activity that was sustained much longer during December than previous years. In the United States, digital monitoring agency comScore said more than $35.3bn was spent online during November and December, a 15% increase on the same period last year.

The week ending on Christmas Day saw a $2.8bn spend by US internet shoppers, 16% up on the same seven days in 2010.

Gian Fulgoni, the comScore chairman said the peak spending day – November 28, or “Cyber Monday” – was the biggest day of the year for the second year running for internet sales.

“Holiday e-commerce spending has remained strong throughout the season,” he said adding that along with Cyber Monday, “we should also note that it was accompanied by nine other billion-dollar spending days this year.”

Parcel shippers in the US are now coping with a growing trend for returning items – not only those bought online, but also those bought in-store. Retailers increasingly see easy or even free returns services as a key part of retaining customer loyalty.

The National Retail Federation is estimating that shoppers will return more than $46bn in merchandise, 10% up from two years ago.

UPS and FedEx are expecting heavy return volumes throughout January, with UPS predicting a 7.7% growth on this time last year, stating that yesterday around 500,000 packages were returned.

“With the rise in online shopping this year, more people are returning those gifts they couldn’t try on or touch before Christmas,” explained UPS public relations manager Natalie Goodwin.

Europe

Across the Atlantic, similar record figures have been seen for e-commerce volumes during the festive period.

In the UK, delivery management company MetaPack, which provides despatch software for major brands including M&S, Sports Direct and John Lewis, said today that last month saw 30% growth in e-commerce volumes compared to the same period in 2010.

The company noted that the last week before Christmas saw very nearly double the sales than in the year before among its top 100 clients.

Two of the country’s largest retailers even had their peak despatch days after Christmas, with a “huge” number of orders taken on Christmas Day and Boxing Day (December 26).

London-based MetaPack said increased consumer confidence in online shopping was driving the growth, along with much milder weather this year.

Claire Biggs, MetaPack marketing manager, said: “We have seen the hours of operation for online retailers increase significantly over the years with despatches occurring right up until and past Christmas Day. This indicates that not only are people buying gifts online but also making use of quieter working days to make their own purchases, with sectors like Sports & Leisure and Electrical seeing a good portion of the sales.”

Around Europe, there was generally a similar picture with major growth in package volumes, although Swiss Post said its volumes were in line with last year. It nevertheless processed over 15m parcels in December up until Christmas Day, handling more than a million parcels a day on peak days at its three sorting centres, around double the levels for a normal day.

Norway Post said that the number of packages it handled in the Christmas period grew 20% this year compared to the same period in 2010, but post office executive director Elizabeth Gjølme said there was a concern about the number of unclaimed packages that remain waiting to be picked up in post offices around the country.

“We hope the recipients will pick these packages up at their local post office, so the fewest possible will see their items returned,” she said.

Estonian Post said the volume of letters and cards sent over Christmas was 10% down last year, but suggested that a 5% increase in package volumes could tie in, with people sending Christmas cards within packages.

Neighbouring Latvia, however, saw growth in letter volumes up to Christmas, with December 23 seeing double the volume compared to the same day in 2010. Latvian Post chairman Aigars Vitols suggested electronic greetings “cannot replace a heartfelt hand-written dedication”, and that Christmas cards were “in vogue again”.

In its parcels operations, Latvian Post reported that hundreds of small package shipments received from the UK shortly before the New Year were found to have been vandalised.

It suggested thieves were after Viagra, and said it was calling on Royal Mail to improve security measures to reduce the risk of interference. Latvian Post was urging its customers to contact Royal Mail if expected items did not arrive.