Australia Post predicting biggest Black Friday ever: 'Busiest days'
Australia Post is gearing up for a busy Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with parcel numbers forecast to skyrocket compared to last year.
With many sales already active, the main Black Friday event is set to kick off on November 26, and run through to Cyber Monday on November 29.
In 2020, 2.2 million Australian households participated in the bargain shopping through Black Friday to Cyber Monday.
Last year’s sales saw November as the biggest month in Australian online shopping history, with a staggering 55 per cent increase in shopping on the previous year.
The fortnight either side of the 2020 Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales were the biggest weeks of last year, with the 2021 event expected to eclipse this record.
This year, Australia Post has already recognised the rise in parcel volume following the Click Frenzy sales earlier this month, which drove a 16 per cent online shopping spike across the week to November 13.
With many sales kicking off early this year, Australians are expected to spend even more than the record-breaking $5.57 billion that was spent during last November’s event.
Following increased parcel demand following last year’s event, Australia Post is urging customers to consider delays when placing an order this year.
Australia Post Executive General Manager Business, Government and International, Gary Starr, said that last year saw an impressive parcel increase at Australia Post facilities.
“Immediately following last year’s bumper cyber sales weekend we saw two of our busiest days ever, handling 3.22 million parcels on December 1 and 3.12 million on December 2,” he said.
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Mr Starr said he expected shoppers to take full advantage of the online sales, and get their Christmas presents sorted with plenty of time left before Australia Post’s recommended last sending dates.
“We know people are keeping a close eye on the big online sales events and planning ahead for what they want to buy, so we’re expecting this year to be huge,” Mr Starr said.
Mr Starr also said that Australia Post is taking a number of steps to improve processing capacity, and mitigate delays on the predicted record shopping event.
“And to make sure we get these purchases to people’s doors as quickly as possible, we’ve set ourselves up with 30 per cent more processing capacity, more planes in the air, and thousands of extra people to sort and deliver parcels, including weekends and twilight deliveries where they’re most needed.”
Customers urged to ‘work with’ Australia Post to navigate delays
Curtin University’s Senior Lecturer in supply chain management and logistics, Elizabeth Jackson, told Yahoo News Australia that customers need to act quickly to avoid the worst case scenario this Christmas.
“We all like to be able to open a present on Christmas Day but unless we work with Australia Post to help it do its job, there is a risk that our logistics systems won’t be able to come to the party this year,” she warned.
Dr Jackson also recommended some gift alternatives that may also assist with timely delivery over this year’s festive season.
“Don’t forget about e-vouchers for products that can be downloaded (like music or e-books),” she said.
“Perhaps pay for someone’s gym membership or buy them some movie vouchers or tickets to a theatre show later in the year."
In an article on their website, Australia Post has strongly encouraged customers to keep an eye on Christmas gift delivery deadlines.
Customers are reminded to send their Christmas gifts by December 13 for Parcel Post in metro areas, and by December 20 for Express Post.
People in some locations, including Western Australia, the Northern Territory and outside of metro areas, are recommended to organise postage as soon as possible.
Australia Post customers are urged to keep an eye on the Australia Post app for updates.
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