Amazon, USPS, FedEx and UPS warn that they will not be able to deliver millions of gifts in time for Christmas

Chicago – Millions of packages and gifts, as part of Christmas sales, run the risk of not arriving in time to be placed under the tree during Christmas next week.

The company Adobe Analytics estimates naive sales this year at $ 184 billion, which translates into 30% more than last year, which has caused the service delivery of millions of packages to be delayed.

The problem is not only with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), but also with private companies that have large distribution infrastructure, such as FedEx, UPS, or Amazon. They all have delays in deliveries and, like retailers, issue warnings and apologies to consumers, who turn to social media to air their complaints.

The postal service acknowledged temporary delays due to a “historic package volume record” that challenged its capacity, as well as the shortage of employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement.

The company ShipMatrix, which analyzes shipping data in the country, reported that at the beginning of the season most companies maintained the regularity of their deliveries. Between November 22 and December 5, FedEx, UPS and postal service delivered on time 94.9%, 96.3% and 92.8%, respectively, of the packages.

Then the postal service delivered approximately 79% of the parcels on time during the week ending December 3 and only 60% during the week ending December 10.

In turn, UPS delivered approximately 83% of packages on time during the week ending Dec. 10, while FedEx delivered 66% on time, up from 75% the previous week.

Companies have taken steps to handle the additional packages, including working on Sundays, but with the current delays there are still around 2.5 million packages that could take a day or two longer than expected to reach their destination.

Amazon had to hire hundreds of thousands of workers to meet the demand for home deliveries during the pandemic. UPS and FedEx announced 100,000 and 70,000 seasonal jobs, respectively, to help fight the additional packages, but it hasn’t been enough.

As Christmas Eve approaches, many of the department stores seem to be giving up on home deliveries and urging their customers to pick up their purchases in person instead of risking a late delivery.

Record online sales at Christmas should come as no surprise, according to consultancy KPMG, which surveyed consumers in 12 different markets to understand how their needs and expectations are changing. One of his conclusions in the middle of the year was that security has become one of the main buying factors, and the mere idea of ​​dealing with the typical crowds of these dates in malls was enough to stay home and appeal to the internet.

How much consumers would spend was another major unknown about Christmas shopping, and in some segments of the population the fact that mobility restrictions imposed by the pandemic have prevented them from traveling on holiday, eating at restaurants or shopping is gone. translate into an increase in available funds.

With travel and entertainment spending largely marginalized, consumers have more money to spend on other items, the National Federation of Retailers reported.

“A lot of people lost jobs and income due to the crisis caused by the pandemic, but there are still others with better spending capacity and this was manifested in online shopping,” the chief economist said. the grouping, Jack Kleinhenz.

Forecasts pointing to 30% growth in online commerce this holiday season contrast with the 8% increase recorded in 2019, he added.

For his part, Enrique Mazón, of the company Salesforce, has opined that online sales “will not fully compensate for the expected slowdown in physical stores due to the crisis, but will be essential to help retailers close the gap in this Christmas season “.