This year many businesses considered their employees and opted out of having their typical black Friday sales. Instead, Cyber Monday was the primary source of receiving discounts. With so many big box stores and small businesses partaking in the Cyber Monday madness, massive shipping delays are being seen all over the country.
Businesses that are bombarding the post office.
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Many stores had record-breaking sales this past Cyber Monday. It is estimated that US consumers spent $10.7 billion on Cyber Monday deals. Although this figure is a slight decrease of %1.4 in sales from the year prior, $10.7 billion is still an impressive amount of purchases for just one day. With so many sales, you may be wondering which companies are ultimately taking over the post office with their shipments.
Amazon
Amazon is currently the largest online retailer. On top of being the most popular, Amazon had the lowest prices with an average of %14 more in savings. Amazon can not provide an exact number, but they stated that billions of packages were delivered this holiday season.
Amazon does offer delivery services by their own drivers. Neverthless, it’s a little-known fact that when Amazon is overloaded, they push their packages onto other postal services such as USPS, UPS, and Fedex.
Walmart
Walmart is the second second-largest online retailer. Their Cyber Monday sales made up a staggering %10.9 of sales that day. Walmart is another company that uses their own fleet of drivers and trucks for delivering orders. However, just like Amazon, Walmart ships through FedEx and USPS more times than not.
Best Buy, Home Depot, and Target
It may be surprising to find out that Best Buy, The Home Depot, and Target brought in less than half of Cyber Mondays revenue at less than %5 each of the total. These companies all use FedEx, UPS, and USPS for their shipments.
Small e-commerce businesses
Small businesses have been booming lately. So, it’s not shocking to hear that Shopify business owners alone brought in over $6.3 Billion in sales this Cyber Monday, which is a %23 increase over 2020.
Shopify only makes up a small portion of e-commerce sales. Etsy is another marketplace that had record-breaking sales this season. Their revenue even out-shined Home Depot, Macy’s, and Lowes.
Why are there so many delays?
Postal services can prepare for the expected surge in packages by hiring seasonal employees and working overtime. Unfortunately, space is still an issue for these companies. During peak season, packages flood every room, floor, and conveyor belt within the buildings. In all of the chaos, packages are lost and damaged on a daily basis.
Online shipping delays go beyond just Cyber Monday. The month of November had a total of $89 billion in online sales, and December is expected to not be too far behind. Globally, holiday shopping brought in a mind-bending $910 Billion of revenue, some of which will be tied up in American postage facilities.
Covid-19 is still lingering, and shipping is still being affected. Many postal employees are taking time off for Covid infections and required quarantining. Other than sick employees, there are covid related shipping delays because many people want to avoid the crowds and are making most purchases online.
The dangers of late shipments.
Having a surplus in late shipments can be dangerous for many individuals.
UPS, USPS, FedEx, and Amazon are overworking their employees. Some employees claim to be working 18-hour shifts in order to keep up with shipping demands. Working in any package facility is hard work that requires a tremendous amount of strain on the body. Dehydration becomes a serious risk, injuries increase throughout the facility, and employees are driving home dead tired.
Receiving packages late can be dangerous for consumers as well. Many pharmacies ship prescriptions to individuals that are unable to physically travel to their pharmacy. Late shipments can leave the sick, elderly, and disabled without the medications that are crucial to their well-being.
Postal carriers often drive large box trucks and semis. Companies like UPS, FedEx, and Amazon park their vehicles directly in front of a home when dropping off each package.
Having extra-large vehicles on the road and in the streets tends to cause many accidents. In 2017, there were over 344,000 accidents involving large trucks. With an increase in online shopping sales, there is sure to be an increase in large vehicle accidents.
If you or someone you care about was involved in a delivery-related accident, JT legal group can help.
How long will shipping delays last?
In 2020, post-Cyber Monday shipping delays lasted weeks and even months for some.
2021 is expected to have similar delays.
If your package from Cyber Monday has still not arrived, call the post office to ensure your package is en route. As mentioned above, many packages are lost or damaged. It is also common for shipping labels to fall off.
Calling the post office directly will send the workers on a hunt for your package that is more than likely sitting in a giant room of other misfit packages waiting to be donated.
