The shipping delays have rolled over through to the end of the year, with Christmas shipping this year being a bit more hectic than what is expected. The shipping and delivery industries the world over have attempted to rectify this situation by bringing up deadlines and cut-off dates to ensure there is enough leniency for minor delays and turnaround times can accommodate the schedules.
However, it is evident that even general mail exchanges that handle post and parcels are also suffering from various delays and if you want to receive Christmas shipping on time, it is important to keep in mind the updated cutoff times or opt to pay extra to make sure it reaches the destination in time.
However, the rising ecommerce demand for instant gratification has added to the mounting pressures, with what is expected to be approximately 52 million parcels being moved during Christmas time. Whilst, some have adjusted to doing their Christmas shopping earlier accounting for the delays that have been occurring since the pandemic started, that still accounted to only a portion of the population. With the large volume of parcels being handed over in the 2nd and 3rd week of December, there is no guarantee that these goods will reach their destinations in time. Which is the reason why deadlines and cutoff dates were brought forward. However, should you want to opt for to have the Christmas shipping reach their destinations in time, the 10 to 15 days advance notice should be handed over via to the express categories for delivery.
Some online stores have opted for the option of allowing customers to choose to collect their shopping at predefined times, which has made the 2-week turnaround into a 2-hour process, and leave it up to the customers to do the needful in wrapping and then having them delivered ahead of the Christmas shipping rush.
Either way, one of the things that the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us is that being prepared and early can help to make the process better. The unprecedented strain on the labour force of health care, logistics and other essential services industries will keep going until the pandemic is declared over. Yet, this may be some time away.
How did you managed your Christmas shipping? Let us know your experiences!