Today is the last day for standard pre-Christmas delivery at the Post Office, though some retailers are offering priority Christmas delivery for orders made right up to Saturday. And sites from The Body Shop to Amazon see tomorrow, December 19, as their cut off for standard delivery. The peak of the online rush before Christmas is then almost certainly now behind us.
But that peak may well have come later than ever. Early figures from retailers, which we report in today’s Internet Retailing newsletter, suggest that customers have continued to buy later and later. Last week saw many retailers enjoy record sales, beating records that had been set only the previous week. Early predictions suggested that the biggest shopping day of this year might come as late as December 17. It’s too soon to say if that’s indeed been the case, but what does seem clear is that customers are trusting ecommerce to deliver their goods on time. And with the range of delivery options opening up, from Click & Collect in shops to overnight locker bank deliveries, it’s safe to push purchasing that little bit later.
In today’s newsletter we also report on an early start to the sales, and on how website performance has been holding up. We have a guest comment from James Hardy of Alibaba with advice on handling returns, and we report on Russell & Bromley’s move into ecommerce.
Record-breaking sales continue in the run-up to Christmas
Sales underway, a week before the big day
Which are the best performing websites this Christmas? Study
GUEST COMMENT Making returns simple after Christmas
What do customers really want from the high street? Research
Russell & Bromley launches first ecommerce store
