Will online shopping demand overwhelm suppliers this Christmas?
Many UK online retailers have just completed their most successful quarter, due to changes in consumer buying habits brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic. Econsultancy reported that 77% of British consumers now do at least part of their shopping online. This figure is up from 61% in 2019.
With a Christmas approaching that looks entirely different this year, e-commerce retailers are expecting unprecedented demand for doorstep deliveries.
While in-person shopping in non-food stores can now take place across the UK, online retailers are still experiencing a huge upturn in demand. In September, shoppers were warned by an industry boss to buy as early as possible.
Fears of a toy shortage
Industry experts have predicted an increase of at least 30% for the peak festive trading season--with an expectation of an increase to 50% if stores have to close again. In previous months, retailers were being warned that popular in-demand toys would sell out long before December, leaving parents frustrated and children disappointed.
On this year's unprecedented increase in web-based sales, James Owen, founder of Outdoor Toys commented: "We are seeing a big surge in demand for children's outdoor play equipment--swings, slides, climbing frames, ride-on cars, trucks and quad bikes. We have many thousands of products in stock now and thousands more already on the way to our warehouse to cope with the Christmas period".
Supporting retailers
Allpack is supporting the nation this Christmas by remaining open and fully operational throughout the season, in order to get vital packaging supplies to retailers and e-commerce distributors.
As one of the leading UK packaging suppliers to British industry, Allpack is ready to supply corrugated cartons and other essential transit packaging to retailers on a just-in-time basis, to ensure our customers remain operational and fulfil their orders.
We will be open and making deliveries every day barring Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
For more information, call us on 01922 472400