Online retailers and couriers have seen a swell of last-minute gift ordering after high street visits fell by 25% on Sunday, compared to the last Sunday before Christmas in 2019 before the pandemic began.
The Springboard footfall figures show that as pandemic panic has once again hit, shoppers have returned to the comfort of their homes to place last minute gift deliveries, according to ParcelHero.
David Jinks, head of consumer research at ParcelHero, said that Monday’s figures showed a 17% surge in deliveries on forecasted volumes.
Consumers are also turning to courier bookings to deliver presents that they were going to deliver in person as they begin to change Christmas plans thanks to worries over Omicron.
“The result of all these changes in the last few days before Christmas means substantially more home deliveries than was forecast even just two weeks ago,” said Jinks. “So far, none of the main UK couriers are reporting very significant delays to parcel deliveries, but many stores have sensibly cancelled next-day options and have brought forward their final order dates.”
