New independent research conducted by Fastway Couriers reveals that 53%¹ of Australians start their online festive shopping around three months ahead of Christmas Day. In the weeks and months leading up to Christmas there is a 15% boost in the number of parcels delivered around the country by the friendly courier experts.
The high demand of deliveries handled by Fastway Couriers comes from Australia’s love of online shopping. Fastway Couriers have found that in an average year of shopping, 1 in 3 Australians buy online more than 11 times, 1 in 4 more than 6 times, and another 1 in 4 more than 3 times. That means in total, more than 4 out of 5 Aussies are shopping online, a lot. The latest NAB Online Retail Sales Index² estimates that Australian shoppers have spent around $21.1 billion online in the last 12 months to October 2016.
Richard Thame, Chief Executive Officer at Fastway Couriers, says:
“Each year, we’re seeing more Australians preparing for Christmas from the comfort of their own home or office. As an innovator in parcel delivery, we work together with online retailers of all sizes and consumers to ensure that their packages and, of course, Christmas presents, reach their owners on time, particularly during this very special and busy time of year. As the modern day Santa, we look forward to delivering Christmas gifts across the country.”
In the average year, Australia’s top five most popular categories for online shopping are: apparel; books, magazines, newspapers and DVDs; electronics and appliances; wellbeing, health, beauty and personal care; and toys and games. This Christmas season, electronics, apparel, books and magazines, health and beauty, and toys are at the top the Australian wish list. Fastway Couriers’ recent research shows that in the past 12 months of online shopping, 50% of Australians purchased apparel; 45% purchased books, magazines, newspapers and DVDs; 42% purchased electronics and appliances; 35% purchased wellbeing, health and beauty products; and 27% purchased toys and games.
“Although popular all year round, during the festive period these are hot items for online shopping up until the final days. It’s easy to research and shop for products and toys online to get organised ahead of time. With a broad collection of gift ideas and toys available from an assortment of websites, it’s never been more convenient to browse, select and purchase to ensure Christmas stockings are filled with favourites!”
Parcel Connect
Fastway Couriers is constantly innovating to find new, alternative delivery solutions for customers. Recent statistics revealed by Blackbay, a leading provider of mobility enabled solutions for the Transport and Logistics Industry, suggests that 85% of online shoppers still prefer to have their deliveries sent to their home address instead of their workplace, but as many as 32% of online shoppers are not at home to receive their parcels.
As a result, Parcel Connect is an initiative developed by Fastway Couriers which is designed to enable customers to collect and send parcels from a vast network of locations across Australia. These locations include local retail outlets such as convenience stores, service stations, and newsagents, which operate as Parcel Connect agents. These operate outside the traditional 9am to 5pm, seven days a week, are easily accessible, and allow customers to collect their parcels at a time that is suitable for them, without any hassle. In addition to collecting parcels on a complimentary basis, customers also have the option to send parcels for a fee.
“For our customers, having the ability to collect parcels quickly, conveniently, and at a time that suits them is very important – and, what’s more, it’s also free. At Parcel Connect, customers can send and collect parcels through conveniently located Parcel Connect agents. Parcel Connect enables customers to skip the long queues, while having the added benefit of ease of service, out of hours convenience, and even being able to purchase other essential items while in store.”
Blu Couriers
Fastway Couriers is also proud to launch its innovative Blu Couriers system, which targets people who are seeking extra income opportunities, by delivering parcels from their own vehicles. This new service aims to provide additional support to Fastway Couriers’ dedicated Courier Franchisees ahead of increasing Christmas demands. Blu Couriers will be rolling out across Sydney and Brisbane over Christmas, connecting Fastway Couriers Franchisees with their local workforce. This allows Fastway Couriers’ Franchisees to quickly up-scale to accommodate peaks in demand, while providing a flexible work option for Australians.
“Christmas is the main period of overwhelming demand. The Blu Courier system solves this challenge, providing additional resources on demand for Fastway’s participating Courier Franchisees. Following the success of our pilot program we anticipate in the next 12 months over 1,000 Australians will take advantage of the flexible working style of Blu Couriers, with the jobs targeted to people wanting to work when it suits them like university students, parents between school runs and people looking for extra income.”
For more information on Fastway Couriers, visit www.fastway.com.au.
¹ Fastway Couriers 2016 Independent Research
² http://business.nab.com.au/nab-online-retail-sales-index-october-2016-19629/