Some of the busiest few weeks of the year for warehouses and logistics facilities are just around the corner as the festive shopping season moves into high gear – but what should we expect this year?
After two years of rising utility bills, higher food costs and an overall increase in the cost of living, it’s fair to expect that this festive season may look a little different.
However, expert projections indicate that rather than a decline in sales, we may see a record number of orders coming through towards the end of the month.
What do the forecasts say?
The much respected Adobe annual Black Friday forecast predicts that around £25.9bn will be spent by British shoppers over the festive period. This would be a record volume of sales for retailers, with the previous record of £25.6bn set back in 2020. This year’s expected shopping splurge is also 6.1% higher than last year, suggesting warehouses and logistics companies should expect to be even busier.
As the traditional start to the holiday season, the peak days for orders are once again expected to be Black Friday (29 November) and Cyber Monday (02 December).
Adobe analysts say, “Deal-hungry shoppers will again concentrate their spending over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend as they take advantage of the deep discounts on offer across all retail categories to stretch their budgets as far as possible.”
One important point to note is that there may be less of a demand for next day delivery this year, as shoppers pull back on spending where they can. The need to stretch what may be smaller budgets mean that free or standard shipping options are expected to be more in demand.
Don’t forget the post-Christmas rush
Some shoppers will hold back their budget in the hope of stronger discounts during the Boxing Day sales. Average reductions of 6-24% are expected through the holiday season, but the higher discounted pricing will be concentrated on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day.
What does this mean for the logistics and warehouse sectors?
Vale for money and price conscious will be the watchwords for shoppers throughout the next month and a half. Retailers should expect to ship a high volume of orders – but warehouses and logistics should also be prepared to deal with a correspondingly high volume of returns.
When it comes to the size of parcels to be shipped, Adobe expects smaller items like toys, games consoles and smartphones to have the highest level of demand.
During this period, our fleet of pallet trucks can help to boost efficiency and productivity levels. Warehouse essentials such as our electric pallet trucks and manual stacker trucks can mitigate against some of the common challenges faced as shipments reach peak levels.
Browse our range online or contact our sales team for more information.