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Wednesday, 15th February 2012, 16:24:07
E-commerce to dominate future festive parcels
The UK's passion for online shopping seems set to continue unabated, according to research by Global Freight Solutions (GFS).
Recent figures from the company suggest that e-commerce parcel volumes will make up at least half of all Christmas packages by 2016.
The company found that online purchases accounted for more a third of packages handled by British carriers in November and December 2011.
It was a 15 per cent volume increase on the previous year.
GFS director Simon Veale believes that the e-commerce market is unlikely to slow down in the near future.
In fact, he predicts that evolutions in mobile technology will provide online retailers with an even bigger boost.
"We believe that the more frequent use of smartphones and tablets to buy Christmas presents online will fuel further parcel growth and that, in turn, means home deliveries may well catch up with those destined for business customers by 2016," he said.
GFS predicts that, by this point, consumers and businesses will contribute an estimated 4.75 million new parcels to the network each day.
UK carriers have recently had to work hard to cope with the high demand surrounding e-commerce purchases as historically, they have dealt mainly with business parcels.
Mr Veale warns that an increasing number of e-commerce firms have put contingency measures in place to use alternative shippers in the event of problems with their primary contractors.
This trend is likely to continue as companies recognise the need for more than one carrier to maximise expertise and capacity, as well as improve customer satisfaction.
Online retailers have an advantage over bricks-and-mortar stores during the festive season in two ways.
Firstly, Christmas shopping begins as early as the final week of November, according to GFS research.
This is most likely because consumers want to make sure that their items will be delivered in time for Christmas.
Secondly, while the post-Christmas sales only begin on Boxing Day in bricks-and-mortar stores, online retailers often offer discounts from Christmas Day itself, while the high street shops are still closed.
Posted by Phil Williams
Reliable E-commerce hosting and support for your online business
Categories: | Online Marketing / Search | Ecommerce |
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