Amazon, USPS, FedEx and UPS warn they won’t be able to deliver millions of Christmas gifts on time

Chicago – The millions of packages and gifts, as part of the Christmas sales, run the risk of not arriving in time to be placed under the tree next week at Christmas.

Adobe Analytics company estimates naiveda’s sales this year at $ 184 billion, 30% more than last year, lagging the delivery service of millions of packages.

The problem is not only the United States Postal Service (USPS), but also private companies with a large distribution infrastructure, such as FedEx, UPS or Amazon. They all have late deliveries and, like merchants, they issue warnings and apologies to consumers, who turn to social media to voice their complaints.

The post acknowledged temporary delays due to a “historic record of parcel volumes” defying its capacity, as well as a staff shortage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a statement said.

The ShipMatrix company, which analyzes shipping data in the country, reported that most companies kept the regularity of their deliveries at the start of the season. Between November 22 and December 5, FedEx, UPS and the Postal Service delivered 94.9%, 96.3% and 92.8% of packages on time, respectively.

Subsequently, the mail delivered about 79% of the packages on time for the week ending December 3 and only 60% for the week ending December 10.

UPS, in turn, delivered about 83% of packages on time in the week ending December 10, while FedEx delivered 66% on time, up from 75% the week before.

Businesses have taken steps to handle additional parcels, including working on Sundays, but with current delays, there are still about 2.5 million parcels that could take a day or two longer than expected to reach their destination.

Amazon had to hire hundreds of thousands of workers during the pandemic to meet the demand for home delivery. UPS and FedEx announced 100,000 and 70,000 seasonal jobs respectively to help process the additional packages, but it wasn’t enough.

With Christmas Eve approaching, many of the major checkout shops seem to be giving up home delivery, urging their customers to pick up their purchases in person rather than run the risk of late delivery.

According to consulting firm KPMG, which surveyed consumers in 12 different markets to understand how their needs and expectations are changing, record Christmas sales should come as no surprise. One of his mid-year conclusions was that security has become one of the most important purchasing factors, and the mere idea of ​​facing the typical hustle and bustle of those malls dates was enough to stay home and appeal to Internet.

How much consumers would spend was one of the main unknowns about Christmas shopping, and in some population segments, the fact that the mobility restrictions imposed by the pandemic prevent them from traveling on vacation, eating in restaurants or shopping, has translated into a increase in available resources.

Because travel and entertainment spending is largely sidelined, consumers have more money to spend on other items, the National Federation of Retailers reported.

“Many people lost jobs and income as a result of the crisis triggered by the pandemic, but there are also others with better spending capacity and this was reflected in online purchases,” said Jack Kleinhenz, the group’s chief economist.

Forecasts for a 30% growth in online commerce this holiday season contrast with the 8% increase in 2019, he added.

Salesforce’s Enrique Mazón, for his part, said online sales “will not fully compensate for the anticipated slowdown in brick-and-mortar stores as a result of the crisis, but will be essential to help retailers close the gap this season. Christmas.”