Australia Post sees record holiday period

Dean Blake

15th Jan 2019

Australia Post delivered more than 40 million parcels in December 2018, a new record thanks to the growing popularity of online shopping and sales events.

This was 11.7 per cent up on the 37 million parcels the delivery service handled in December 2017.

“Our busiest day was Monday, 17 December, when we delivered a record three million parcels across the country,” Australia Post chief executive Bob Black said, noting it was the busiest day in the business’s history, followed by Christmas Eve.

According to Black, 2.7 million parcels were delivered on Christmas Eve, with Australians increasingly leaving Christmas shopping to the end of the month.

“Online shopping is building momentum as a channel of choice, where customers can make the most of online deals and choose customisable delivery options… this means online shoppers can buy the brands they love no matter where they live.”

Despite the impressive numbers, a survey of more than 1000 Aussies by Here Technologies found that more than half (53 per cent) had been left disappointed after online orders failed to arrive on time over the festive season.

More than three quarters (76 per cent) of respondents noted the most important consideration when shopping online over the Christmas period is punctual delivery, and almost a fifth (19 per cent) said they would pay more from a store they trust to deliver on time.

Australia Post invested in an automated parcel processing machine at its Strathfield facility during July 2018 in anticipation of such a holiday period, with the machine being able to process over 10,000 parcels in an hour.

The automation also reduces the risk of injury and manual handling, providing a safer working environment for Australia Post employees.

Australia Post general manager for parcels and express services Ben Franzi noted last year he doubts Australia will catch up to the online saturation found in more mature markets such as the US and UK.