Christmas 2020 in the courier industry

This year has been without doubt an exceptional year. As it draws to a close, the scope for surprises and shocks is not over yet. In our latest blog post we will consider the impact of this Christmas on our industry.

With all what has happened this year it seems like it was decades ago, but there was a quite significant period of time in early to mid-2020 when non-essential shops were completely shut. This increased demand for online services massively – not only for the outlets and business but also for couriers and those within the delivery industry, who were needed to transport and deliver this surge in goods.

Many shops are back open now, and whilst things are far from normal, they can at least trade and accept people through the door. Whilst footfall in retail establishments has obviously increased since earlier in the year, it is nothing like normal. As we now approach the busiest and most critical period of the year, all the signs are is that trade is not as good as usual or what would be hoped for pre-Christmas. In contrast the online trend has not decreased. Whether it is a combination of people just being too scared to visit the shops, or finding it more convenient not to leave the house, online services are booming and will continue to do so for the remainder of the year.

Many businesses have had a difficult year but the continued demand for online retail has been good news for couriers and delivery drivers. The demand has been so great that one private owned delivery company has had to hire an extra 3,000 people to cope with Christmas demand. Not only does this create a job for someone who can bring a wage home, it also helps to vitally expand individual businesses and the wider courier industry. It is not just private delivery firms that are seeing increased demand. Royal Mail has also recruited over 30,000 extra people, when normal Christmas recruitment has figures in the range of 15,000 to 25,000.

All this is great news for the industry, but can it cope? Many couriers already work long hours especially in the approach to Christmas, with significant amounts of these doing so only for low pay. If there is extra pressure and a need to perform this year, will that create problems and lead to something resembling meltdown within the parcel and delivery network?

If you are thinking of using couriers or delivery services this Christmas, we advise you to start now – as early as possible. Currently online demand shows no signs of slowing. There is already normally a rush in late November and December, something which we can only predict to be substantially more this year.

Many readers of our blogs will be aware that Rock Solid Deliveries specialise in same day delivery. Especially as Christmas draws close, we also expect a demand for this service to be much greater than normal, aswell as increases across our other arms of operation.

If you need something delivering in the run up to Christmas, then look no further than us. We provide a top-quality service that is fully insured and tracked from start to finish – perfect for those Christmas deliveries or normal parcels!

Give us a try! Why not use our instate estimate generator to give you a guide on price?