Top shoppers
After examining our parcel delivery data across the pipeline, we have revealed the top 10 areas where shoppers made the most online purchases over Cyber Week this year.
Bargain hunters in East London top the list of the UK’s most prolific shoppers in the UK’s biggest cyber shopping event, followed by Kirkwall, Llandrindod Wells and North West London.
Top 10 UK hotspots:
- East London
- Kirkwall
- Llandrindod Wells
- North West London
- Truro
- Carlisle
- Lerwick, Shetland
- Inverness
- Dumfries
- St Albans
Black Friday, originally a one-day promotional sales event but now covering a broader period, is widely regarded as the start of the Christmas shopping season in the UK. According to our latest research, UK online shoppers spend on average almost £300 (£292) purchasing goods online at Christmas.
The main reasons people choose to shop online at Christmas are convenience-related: being able to shop from the comfort of their home (68%), the ability to shop any time of the day (63%) and the ease of comparing prices (48%).
We take the planning for the period between Black Friday and New Year's Day incredibly seriously and start planning for the next year the moment the current period is over. This year, on top of the huge number of Process and Delivery sites we already operate, we have opened an extra six dedicated parcel sort centres to handle the additional volume we expect to be carrying.
The top 10 online shopping hotspots are based on analysis of parcels accepted into the network between 19-27 November. Items were accepted from online retailers and ecommerce businesses for delivery via our Tracked 24 and Tracked 48 services.
Online purchases made on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and beyond will continue to be distributed by retailers and delivered by us over the coming days, depending on consumer preferences.
During the December trading period in 2017, we handled a staggering 149 million packages. This year, we have recruited an additional 23,000 temporary colleagues to support our seasonal operation.
More than 1,100 customer service points will be open on Sunday 23 December and they will all be open on Christmas Eve. These measures are about delivering the best possible service to customers throughout the Christmas period.
