Shoppers left it later than ever to send their parcels this past Christmas.
UK courier ParcelHero said the previous Christmas peak was December 13, 2018 – nearly a full week earlier than this season’s busiest day, the 17th.
“Retailers had a mixed Christmas, with a busy Black Friday flanked by low sales either side of the event,” said ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks.
“But some shoppers left it later than usual to complete Christmas shipping, sensing blood as retailers slashed prices to shift stock. That meant ParcelHero’s busiest day of the holiday season was Tuesday December 17, five days later than the previous Christmas peak.”
But he concluded: “There’s no doubt Christmas as a whole was a disappointment for retailers, with sales actually falling for the first time on record. November and December overall sales were down -0.9% overall compared to 2018, according to the latest Retail Sales Monitor from the BRC and KPMG. However, ParcelHero’s later peak day shows there were still many online shoppers hanging on until the last minute before committing to buy.”
