Tis the season to stress test last-mile delivery. One week remains till Christmas eve.
Friday, December 16 was FreeShippingDay, promoted as the last day to order and receive by Christmas without paying a premium. I'm not yet seeing data on demand outcomes. Besides, there are still other options for "free" shipping.
Amazon is offering PrimeNow customers one or two hour delivery until midnight on Christmas eve. Be sure to have milk and cookies to reward the poor guy/gal making last rounds.
Some suggest systemic problems have already emerged resulting in reduced on-time-delivery rates. But UPS and FedEx insist that the network-as-a-network is meeting consumer expectations.
UPS expects to deliver more than 700 million packages this holiday season, a 14 percent increase over last year, US Postal Service anticipates a 12 percent increase and FedEx is forecasting a 10 percent increase.
My guess is that Sunday/Monday will see a peak for online orders. Anything shipped on Monday/Tuesday should make it home for the holidays. This temporal space between peak and target should support network efficacy. This does not mean there won't be a last minute crisis. Consumers are increasingly inclined to challenge the space-time continuum.
Lauren Freedman, senior vice president of digital strategy at Astound Commerce told the Wall Street Journal: "Holiday shoppers inevitably procrastinate... At the end of the day, they want to buy the stuff, and they want it fast. Now they just want it faster,”
MONDAY, DECEMBER 19 UPDATE: USA Today has a good overview mostly repeating what is above... with a few more details.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 19 UPDATE: USA Today has a good overview mostly repeating what is above... with a few more details.
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