Australia Post is expecting Monday will prove to have been the biggest parcel delivery day in the country’s history, with its team of posties, drivers and mail and parcel sorters delivering close to three million parcels on the day.
Since October, Australia Post has experienced an unprecedented number of deliveries, with more than 10 million parcels delivered in one week alone. The surge in volumes follows popular online shopping festivals such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with parcel deliveries growing more than 30 per cent during the sales.
Australia Post group chief operating officer Bob Black said more and more customers are turning to online shopping ahead of a busy Christmas because it offered more convenience.
“[Monday] will the biggest delivery day in Australia Post’s history, with close to three million parcels moving through our network, as Australia’s love for online shopping continues to grow,” Mr Black said.
“The most popular Christmas gifts among Australian online shoppers include toys and games, fashion and jewellery, and homewares and appliances along with health and beauty products.
“As well as record parcel numbers, Christmas cards are popular too, with posties delivering millions of Christmas letters and greeting cards during December.”
Mr Black said Australians were shopping mainly from local retailers, with the falling Australian dollar helping increase the proportion of domestic online purchases to more than 70 per cent of delivered parcels.
Overall, Australia Post is expecting to deliver over 40 million parcels this December, exceeding the 37 million parcels delivered in December last year.
To help customers get their Christmas gifts in time Australia Post
- Is keeping over 170 retail outlets open longer.
- Installed a further 13 parcel lockers taking the total to 343.
- Has 13 air freighters operating every night for Express services and 16,000 vehicles operating daily.
- Has hired close to 3000 extra people to deal with record volumes.