Christmas parcels hit record highs

JUST 11 days remain until Christmas Day and shoppers are madly trying to fill their stockings while Australia Post is working around the clock to ensure parcels are delivered on time and, most importantly, before December 25.

And depending on where you live in Australia, the cutoff days vary for ordering your gifts or posting presents off and ensuring they arrive in time.

Australia Post’s general manager for eCommerce Ben Franzi said parcel numbers were soaring as online shopping continued to boom, particularly for time-poor shoppers who were ordering online.

“We are expected to deliver more than 2 million parcels a day which was a record last year — that’s more than 2700 a minute,’’ he said. “Be sure to allow time for your parcels to be picked and packed, and check with your retailer to see if they guarantee arrival before Christmas.”

He said, in metropolitan areas, if there was an “overflow” of parcels, in some cases, goods would be delivered on the Saturdays and Sundays remaining before Christmas Day.

Australian Retailers’ Association executive director Russell Zimmerman urged shoppers to “get their skates on if you order anything online now”.

“Downloading electronic gift vouchers is a good idea and ‘Click and Collect’ works well. Make sure you go to the store and pick it up and know you are going to have it in time for Christmas,’’ he said.

Australia Post research has found toys and games are the hottest items shoppers are ordering online, spending about $208 each this year — 17 per cent more than last year.

But the arrival by American shopping juggernaut Amazon in Australia this week left many shoppers disappointed, with slow shipping times and higher prices than Australian retail outlets.

Myer’s executive general manager of stores Tony Sutton urged shoppers to hit the stores online sooner rather than later. “As we get closer to Christmas, it is highly recommended that customers use our express or same-day delivery services. Customers can also use our Click and Collect service, where you choose your items and go into the store to collect them.”