Online sales continue to thrive after reopening of the high street

ParcelHero predicts the end of seasonal peaks for home delivery.

ParcelHero seasonal peaks

Despite the reopening of the majority of high street stores in June, the UK courier service ParcelHero has said demand for home deliveries has now become evergreen, with seasonal peaks and troughs looking to be a thing of the past.

ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks MILT, explains: “Contrary to many analysts’ expectations, parcel deliveries and e-commerce sales have continued to climb in July even though most non-essential stores reopened on 15th June. ParcelHero has seen no sign of any decline in deliveries so far this month and is still experiencing Christmas + level volumes.”

He adds, “Online sales are booming. Growth Intelligence says over 85,000 businesses launched online during lockdown and its loosening has done little to halt demand. In fact, there is strong evidence that the reopening of many high street stores actually boosted online sales. According to the online retailers’ association IMRG/Capgemini, multichannel retailers ‘recorded the highest online growth ever’ during the week when physical retailers reopened their doors.”

This result, according to David, is not surprising given the consistent demand for online services. Indeed, A&M/Retail Economics estimates that 17.2m British consumers have made changes to the way they shop. David adds those who see the risk of Covid-19 to be very high are “almost four times more likely to have shifted their shopping habits for the long-term.”

David concludes, “At the beginning of lockdown, the front door became the front line in the fight against Covid-19. Britain’s new online shopping habit is one that most consumers, especially older shoppers who have ventured online for the first time, may be reluctant to kick any time soon.”

For ParcelHero’s latest information on every available quality courier service currently available, for both everyday senders and retailers, see its live parcel price comparison quotes here.