AS BRITS begin to head back to their workplaces, the country could see as many as half a million parcels failing to be delivered daily according to experts.
The nation has spent fifteen months in and out of lockdowns, this has made online shopping rise by 48 per cent according to an Ofcom report which was revealed yesterday.
Due to people being stuck at home for work or being furloughed, the UK has seen the lowest number of missed deliveries.
Study reveals that 5 per cent of deliveries are reduced when the nation is out of lockdown.
However, it is said that this could change this summer as Brits begin to spend less time at home and head back to work or engage in social activities as the country opens back up.
Independent retail consultant, Graham Soult, studied figures examining the shift in behaviours post-lockdown and viewed them about online spending patterns and current parcel figures to conclude.
He found that over 7.5 million parcels are sent to the UK daily and these numbers have been rising, with around 5 per cent of deliveries reducing when the country isn’t in lockdown.
From this, he estimates the number of missed deliveries could almost reach half a million per day, with numbers rising as online purchases continue to surge.
The number of missed deliveries could reach almost half a million per day.
Soult said: “We’ve crunched the data, and even working on existing stats that predate the latest surge in online shopping you get close to a figure of 12 million missed parcels a month. And it’s likely to be even higher soon as people get out more.
“It’s something people used to complain about all the time before the pandemic, and now it’s set to become a major daily gripe again – that sinking feeling when you open the front door after a day at work to see a clutch of cards under the letterbox for missed deliveries.
“People have got into the habit of shopping online more than ever during lockdowns – not just from big-name stores, but also from the many high-street independents that pivoted to trading online during the pandemic.
“However, part of the convenience they’ve enjoyed has been based on them being in when the parcel arrives. Now they’re going to be back to that pain of ‘collect this from this depot’, and, that old favourite, ‘package left in a bin’ when the bins have just been emptied.”
The IParcelBox aims to remove the stress of deliveries.
Soult researched the creators of IParcelBox, a product that aims to eradicate the stress and inconvenience of missed deliveries and returns collections which provides a secure and weatherproof parcel delivery solution that allows consumers to monitor from their smartphone.
The idea of the new device came from construction consultant Paul Needler who was annoyed himself at missed parcels.
Needler said: “This project started when I designed a secure box for myself, as I was so frustrated by missed deliveries. Then friends and colleagues started asking for them and pretty soon I was selling them all over the UK.
“I realised there was a huge demand for a simple and secure product that would cut out missing things people are desperately waiting for, as well as those annoying journeys to collection depots. It’s proved so popular we can’t make them fast enough to keep up with demand. It’s a simple but seriously functional invention that ensures your deliveries are safe and you’ll never miss another again.”
The Parcel box is weatherproof and connects to your WI-FI network, it accepts parcels up to 55cm wide, 35cm deep and 39cm high.
