There is a growing gap in how many delivery workers are available across the UK, and it’s threatening to cause delays to shoppers this Black Friday and Christmas.
New research by Esendex raises concerns about how Black Friday and Cyber Monday will look for the UK. This is the busiest holiday season, and customers spend more than usual.
There is a shortage of delivery drivers, with nearly 30,000 postal and delivery driver vacancies not yet filled in the UK before the busiest season. This could have a ripple effect on orders placed during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas.
It is challenging and rewarding for any entrepreneur, but from a logistics perspective, it might disappoint online shoppers.
Shoppers are searching for bargains and are ready to splurge on sales and discounts, causing a sharp rise in demand. At the same time, retailers rely heavily on delivery drivers at this time of the year.
But there are fresh concerns that a shortage of delivery drivers might spoil the festive mood.
Bottlenecks and delayed Christmas gifts
Esendex warns that a growing shortage of delivery drivers can cause potential bottlenecks in some regions. This could pose a risk of severe delivery delays that directly impact customer satisfaction.
As business owners, this is what you can do:
Remember to operate with transparency. These delays are unavoidable, but you can manage customer expectations by clearly communicating updates using SMS solutions.
This can help to maintain high customer satisfaction. Delivery updates remain one of the most valued messages that customers want to receive.
Another tip to soften the blow of the delays is to connect with customers where they are. By creating two-way communication via WhatsApp for Business, you make a communication channel that drives effective communication and higher engagement.
Delivery quality in the UK
A recent report by UK postal industry regulator Ofcom shows that the volume of measured parcels increased by 8.3% to 3.9 billion items in 2023-2024.
The delivery experience has left not much to desire. It found that 67% of online shoppers reported experiencing a delivery issue with any parcel operator in the past six months. In the interaction with a parcel operator, more than half of the shoppers were dissatisfied.
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About the author
Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
