Mount Everest of Christmas peaks predicted

It’s urging retailers to work closely with their delivery partners, otherwise a looming driver shortage and strained supply chains will mean Christmas chaos.

ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks MILT, says the double-whammy of families, separated by Covid restrictions, mailing their gifts, plus a shortage of skilled drivers created by Brexit, could prove a mountain too high to climb. He is urging retailers and couriers to start escalating their Christmas planning immediately to conquer the Mount Everest of Christmas peaks.

Says David: “The huge demand for deliveries is being compounded by the reported loss of a quarter of a million EU nationals from the UK economy this year, which will lead to a 30% shortfall in drivers and warehouse workers.

“Even though many retailers and delivery companies are attempting to hire thousands more staff in preparation for this year’s Christmas peak, this might be difficult to do in practice. Retailers may need to radically shake up their Christmas distribution plans.

“Despite a partial pick-up of High Street store sales in recent months, online sales are still over 50% higher compared to a year ago. ParcelHero had its busiest day ever just last week and online pure-play Ocado has overtaken Tesco to become the UK’s most valuable retailer. This year’s home delivery growth is unprecedented for both parcels and groceries.

“The spike in online orders caught many of the UK’s most respected brands off-guard. The likes of AO.com, M&S, River Island, Currys-PC World, Shop Direct and Debenhams all admitted to disruption to their delivery networks in fulfilling the record amount of orders. Even the e-commerce leader Amazon found itself overstretched, while Yodel was forced to stop picking up parcels from retailers as it struggled under the weight of demand.

“There’s no doubt the problems of Christmas 2014 could be repeated this year if retailers underestimate the scale of the challenge. Berry Recruitment, one of the largest temporary worker suppliers in the country, says demand for delivery drivers is running at 30% above supply. It believes a combination of a huge increase in online ordering and fewer European workers has created a perfect storm. This view is supported by findings from the business news service Quartz, which analysed data from the Government’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) and found around a quarter of a million people from the EU have left the UK economy since the start of the year, because of the impact of both Covid and Brexit.

“Can the crisis be averted? This year, Yodel seems determined not to repeat the experience of 2014 and has announced it will create 2,950 new jobs to handle volumes during the Christmas peak. Similarly, many other delivery companies have been gearing up for some time to cope with the rise in demand. Amazon is planning to create more than 20,000 seasonal and permanent positions ahead of the festive period.”

For more information, visit www.parcelhero.com/en-gb/uk-courier-services