Christmas Shopping Brings Driver Demand
A new survey from Yodel has revealed that more Christmas shoppers than ever will be shopping exclusively online.
Survey Findings
The survey found that 31% plan to do all their festive shopping online. This is a huge increase from last year when 7% of shoppers did all their shopping online.
The study also found that many shoppers are adopting a hybrid approach. 61% said they will be shopping in-store and online. But this seems to be a more popular option with shoppers aged 18-24s. 68% of people in that ages group said they will be hybrid-shopping compared to 55% of over 75s.
2020 saw an 8.9% increase in online retail sales due to the pandemic. With the ongoing increase in online retail, there is concern it will put pressure on the already strained transport industry.
Comment
Mike Hancox, CEO of Yodel said:
“The run-up to Christmas is always one of the busiest periods for online retailers, but this year looks like it will be particularly intense as consumer appetite for e-commerce continues to grow. To cater to this increased demand, we are recruiting over 4,300 new colleagues for a range of roles across the business this festive season.”
Driver Shortage
The shortage of drivers has now reached 100,000. In September 2021 the Government announced a series of measures to support the transport industry. These measures included short term temporary visas for 5000 HGV drivers to work over the festive period. A £10 million investment into driver training schemes was also brought in by The Department for Education (DfE).
Logistics UK’s director of policy, Elizabeth de Jong said:
“We are pleased the Government has listened to our calls and has made this bold decision to support the UK economy.”
But there are concerns that these measures will not go far enough. Some reports are calling for shoppers to start early as delivery time may increase. 75% of those surveyed said that they had already started their festive shopping for this year.
Useful Links
If your company is set receive a boost in activity due to online shopping deliveries, Cambrian Fuel Card services offers a comprehensive range of fuel cards.
To find out more go to https://www.cambriancards.com/fuel-cards/
Christmas Shopping Brings Driver Demand
