UK E-Commerce Sector Can Expect Strong Christmas Performance

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The latest IMRG MetaPack Delivery Index has shown that the UK e-commerce sector can expect a particularly impressive performance this Christmas period, with companies predicted to receive around 120 million orders in December alone, the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) reports.

Around 930 million parcels will be delivered in 2014 – despite a decrease of 13.6% month-on-month in the number of orders placed in August. The number of orders is now expected to increase by 10% in the months approaching Christmas, as is often the case in the run-up to the holiday season.

Regardless of this recorded lull, the overall figures still suggest an increase of 20% in the number of orders sent by UK e-commerce companies year-on-year. There was actually an increase in delivery service performance during August, with around 94% of deliveries being received on time – higher than the same metric recorded in 2013 and 2012. Orders which were received late or required a second delivery attempt stood at 10.72% in August, whereas the monthly average for the last 12 months was 11.6%.

Andrew Starkey, head of e-logistics for IMRG, claimed that with the help of “three years of data” from the reports, they were able to “predict the annual pattern of when and where these deliveries will be made”, meaning they could “confidently anticipate” the 120 million orders expected this December.

One interesting take away from the forecast is that UK consumers are opting for next day or specified delivery days more than previously, representing 28% of all dispatched orders within August. The number of next day or specified day deliveries in the whole of 2013 stood at only 19%.