Parcel and Postal Technology International
  • News
    • A-E
      • Automation
      • Business Diversification
      • Construction / Development
      • Cross-border
      • Delivery
      • E-commerce
      • Expo
    • F-O
      • Freight
      • IT & Systems
      • Last Mile
      • Lockers / PUDO
      • Logistics
      • Mail
      • Operations
    • P-R
      • Packets
      • Parcels
      • Peak
      • Retail
      • Returns
    • S-Z
      • Sorting Systems
      • Staff / Personnel
      • Sustainability
      • Technology
      • Vehicles / Fleet
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    • March 2025
    • September 2023
    • June 2023
    • March 2023
    • December 2022
    • SHOWCASE 2019
    • Archive Issues
    • Subscribe Free!
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Analysis
  • Awards
    • 2025 Awards
    • Previous Winners
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Parcel + Post Expo
LinkedIn YouTube Twitter
  • Sign-up for Breaking News Emails
  • Meet the Editors
  • Contact Us
  • Media Pack
Subscribe
LinkedIn Facebook
Parcel and Postal Technology International
  • News
      • Automation
      • Business Diversification
      • Construction / Development
      • Cross-border
      • Delivery
      • E-commerce
      • Expo
      • Freight
      • IT & Systems
      • Last Mile
      • Lockers / PUDO
      • Logistics
      • Mail
      • Operations
      • Packets
      • Parcels
      • Peak
      • Retail
      • Returns
      • Sorting Systems
      • Staff / Personnel
      • Sustainability
      • Technology
      • Vehicles / Fleet
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    1. December 2024
    2. September 2024
    3. June 2024
    4. March 2024
    5. SHOWCASE 2019
    6. Subscribe Free!
    Featured
    April 2, 2025

    In this Issue – March 2025

    Online Magazines By Web Team
    Recent

    In this Issue – March 2025

    April 2, 2025

    In this Issue – December 2024

    December 5, 2024

    In this Issue – September 2024

    September 19, 2024
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Analysis
  • Awards
    • 2025 Awards
    • 2024 Award Winners
    • 2023 Award Winners
    • 2022 Award Winners
    • 2021 Award Winners
    • 2020 Award Winners
    • 2019 Award Winners
    • Previous Winners
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Parcel + Post Expo
LinkedIn Facebook
Subscribe
Parcel and Postal Technology International
Parcels

Parcel volumes increase by nearly 50% on Black Friday

mmBy Helen NormanDecember 2, 20155 Mins Read
Share LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email

Early global reports from the 2015 Black Friday weekend have shown a sharp increase in e-commerce activity compared with 2014, leading to a dramatic rise in the number of parcels being processed. According to research by UK e-tailer association IMRG and Experian, a record-breaking £1.1bn (US$1.6bn) was spent online on Black Friday in the UK alone.

MetaPack, a supplier of delivery management technology, reported that 963,754 parcels were processed across its e-commerce delivery platform on Black Friday, an increase of 46% compared with the 660,155 deliveries in 2014. Data also confirmed that 92% of packages delivered on Cyber Monday arrived on time, compared with 73% on the same day a year ago. MetaPack’s delivery management platform integrates 300 carriers and postal operators and 3,500 services enabling retailers to improve their delivery performance in more than 200 countries.

Patrick Wall, CEO at MetaPack, said, “Many records were broken over the Black Friday Weekend, but more importantly, it was the fast and efficient response of the retail and logistics industries that proved most significant. Thanks to the depth of preparation made by both retailers and carriers, the sharing of forecasts, and the adoption of multi-carrier contracts to cover the period, retailers were able to manage capacity and worked in tandem with carriers to clear orders. As a result, the quality of service for customers was maintained throughout, with carriers even providing additional services – including Sunday collections – to manage the increase in volumes and enable retailers to keep their delivery promises.”

Parcel management software company NetDespatch also saw similar trends in the number of orders being processed by its software as a service (SaaS) platform, which is used by more than 100,000 retailers worldwide.

Matthew Robertson, commercial director at NetDespatch, said, “The figures we are seeing fully support widely reported views that shoppers have now more than ever taken to buying goods online, ahead of going in-store. Cyber Monday was the busiest day in NetDespatch’s history and in fact was a massive 14% up on Black Friday. Even the days after Cyber Monday we are still seeing a peak of 1,800 orders being processed per minute on the NetDespatch platform.

“But the good news is that this year we have not seen the twin tsunami of last year’s peak days, instead retailers have spread out sales across the whole week, easing the strain on every part of the supply chain, enabling retailers to sell more, carriers to manage delivery expectations and consumers to continue to shop with confidence.

“With sales now extending into the first week of December, we expect not to see a dip in volume, but instead a ‘peak plateau’ carrying on towards Christmas,” concluded Robertson.

However, some stores in the UK have still struggled to cope with delivery demands. An article by news site Mail Online has listed multiple customer complaints regarding delayed deliveries from retailer Argos. On its Twitter page, the company has issued an apology stating, “We’re sorry for the delay in responding. Our hugely popular Black Friday Event and Fast Track delivery service are keeping the team busy. We have added extra staff and they are working through calls and emails as fast as possible. Thanks for your patience.”

In the Nordics, the number of parcels sent in connection with Black Friday increased by 48% when compared with 2014. That is according to a report by EDI-Soft, whose delivery management software CONSIGNOR is used by more than 10,000 companies in the Nordic region. The report showed that Norway experienced the biggest increase in the number of private parcels sent in the Nordics, with an 83% increase over 2014.

Sean Fleming, online retail expert and editor of eDelivery.net, said, “Black Friday’s appeal isn’t hard to identify – mega-promotions and discounts offering great deals online and in-store. What’s not to like? But for retailers it’s a slightly more nuanced affair. No one wants to miss out on sales, of course. But margins get squashed, and logistics operations come under enormous pressure; the cost of processing and delivering 40% more items than usual cannot be ignored. Retailers must prepare themselves in order to stay on top of things and not let customers down.

“What can go wrong on Black Friday is if carriers and retailers under-estimate the amount of demand, leading to a shortage of supply. This is a problem that has to be fixed; multi-channel retailers have to be able to keep the promise made to the customer. If they can’t, shoppers will go elsewhere. Whether the problem will be fixed by this time next year is impossible to say, but I hope that logistics are as big a focus – if not bigger – for retailers and carriers than great deals on Black Friday next year.”

In the USA, a report by software developer Adobe has shown that US$2.72bn was spent by online shoppers on Black Friday, 14% more than in 2014. The report is based on anonymous data from 150 million visits to 4,500 retail websites including 80% of all online transactions from the top 100 US retailers.

Tamara Gaffney, principal analyst, Adobe Digital Index, said, “US consumers have turned into digital shopping ninjas this holiday season as retailers continue to adjust to a huge influx of smartphone shoppers.”

December 2, 2015

Share. Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email
Previous ArticleDHL launches track-and-trace service for lower cost packages
Next Article TNT UK achieves global recognition for environmental management

Related Posts

Delivery

DHL eCommerce UK and Evri merge

May 14, 20254 Mins Read
E-commerce

NZ Post’s Auckland Processing Centre becomes fully operational

May 13, 20253 Mins Read
Delivery

Swiss Post ends same-day delivery service notime

May 8, 20253 Mins Read

Receive breaking stories and features in your inbox each week, for free


Enter your email address:


Latest News

DHL eCommerce UK and Evri merge

May 14, 2025

OPINION: How Chinese CEP giants are shaping the future of Europe’s last-mile logistics

May 14, 2025

DP World to invest US$760m in Dominican Republic logistics hub

May 14, 2025
Getting in Touch
  • Contact Us / Advertiser
  • Meet the Editors
  • Download Media Pack
  • Breaking News Emails
Our Social Channels
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
Supplier Spotlights
  • Loadhog
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Notice & Takedown Policy
  • Site FAQs
© 2025 UKi Media & Events a division of UKIP Media & Events Ltd

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie records the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie records the user consent for the cookies in the "Analytics" category.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe GDPR Cookie Consent plugin sets the cookie to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie records the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie stores user consent for cookies in the category "Others".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie stores the user consent for cookies in the category "Performance".
elementorneverThe website's WordPress theme uses this cookie. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time.
JSESSIONIDsessionNew Relic uses this cookie to store a session identifier so that New Relic can monitor session counts for an application.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

CookieDurationDescription
__cf_bm30 minutesCloudflare set the cookie to support Cloudflare Bot Management.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

CookieDurationDescription
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded YouTube videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
uidsessionThis is a Google UserID cookie that tracks users across various website segments.
vuid1 year 1 month 4 daysVimeo installs this cookie to collect tracking information by setting a unique ID to embed videos on the website.
_ga1 year 1 month 4 daysGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to calculate visitor, session and campaign data and track site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognise unique visitors.
_ga_*1 year 1 month 4 daysGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to store and count page views.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

CookieDurationDescription
OAGEOsessionOpenX sets this cookie to avoid the repeated display of the same ad.
OAID1 yearCookie set to record whether the user has opted out of the collection of information by the AdsWizz Service Cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysYouTube sets this cookie to measure bandwidth, determining whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYoutube sets this cookie to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
yt.innertube::nextIdneverYouTube sets this cookie to register a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
yt.innertube::requestsneverYouTube sets this cookie to register a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

CookieDurationDescription
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA5 months 27 daysDescription is currently not available.

SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by