Week 3: How the carrier services have been impacted
We have reached the end of business week two of the UK’s lockdown, although for some that may undoubtedly feel more like two months. Unfortunately, whereas “working from home” was probably the hot business phrase for week one, that has been replaced with “furlough” and “temporary closures” as some of the UK’s, and indeed the world’s, biggest brands begin to plan for the likelihood of an extended lockdown period.
ZigZag are committed to keeping our retailers and partners informed on how the industry is reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on Wednesday we did just that with an in-depth analysis on eCommerce logistics. The Co-Founder and CEO of ZigZag, Al Gerrie, provided a webinar update on all our carriers, provided much needed market intelligence, and explored ways retailers can manage their returns through this crisis.
Here is a short overview of what was discussed on Wednesday’s Zoom-hosted webinar:
Changing customer behaviours
Customers are ordering differently as new revenue streams continue to open online as older demographics join the eCommerce market. With the majority of the UK workforce working from home, home deliveries have become a necessity for many retailers, and of course, home collections for returns too (with Post Offices and collection points closing across Europe). Online sales of electrical goods and garden items have seen increases of 42.4% and 80.8% respectively.
Changing retailer behaviours
Early sales! In a relatively unprecedented move, many retailers have entered Easter sales a number of weeks earlier than they have done in previous years. Sales are being used to prop up trading, which for eCommerce, has been relatively strong so far. Some retailers that have closed high-street stores are still trading online such as River Island and SportsDirect, whereas others have shut down all operations such as Schuh and NEXT.
10 carrier updates
An Post – Whilst a number of post offices across Ireland have temporarily closed, post and parcel services are currently operating as normal.
APG – There is currently a 24 hour impact on all deliveries and collections, with AU and NZ likely to take a further hit on transit times from Monday.
PostAG – There are more than 400 post offices are open as usual with exception to UNO City Vienna
Canada Post – Operating as normal with social distancing measures
Celeritas – Only 23% of their PUDO network remain open in Spain. All carriers are working normally although the outbound and inbound delivery services to home are restricted for some COVID-19 high risk areas.
DHL – Many routes are operating as normal without delays, however their website is updated daily with estimates of 24 hours or more for a number of destinations.
FedEx – No impact to its global service. They have suspended their money-back guarantee for all FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight and FedEx Office services effective immediately until further notice.
Hermes – There is currently no impact on Hermes parcel delivery services but you will see some differences in how they will go about delivering parcels from now on as they reduce physical contact. Collection from home will prove to be a valuable asset for returns
Royal Mail – Customer Service Points have a temporary change in opening hours. There is a reduction of services, particularly for non-addressed mail (advertising).
Singapore Post – Due to a significant reduction in air freight capacity and frequency to and from Singapore to all international destinations, overseas shipments will result in substantial delay.
For a more comprehensive industry update, email luke.toudup@zigzag.global who will share the detailed deck used in the webinar, whilst a recording will be made available on Monday.