NZ Post increases delivery capacity to make sure Kiwis get their parcels before Christmas

Monday, 22 November 2021

NZ Post has upped their capacity to help get parcels delivered during the Christmas rush.

New Zealand Post has increased its parcel delivery capacity and says New Zealanders are expected to spend almost $440 million in online shopping over the comping weeks.

“While retail restrictions have eased in Auckland, the number of parcels being sent remains at unprecedented levels,” NZ Post chief customer officer Bryan Dobson said.

NZ Post’s eCommerce Spotlight report shows Kiwis spent $765 million online in the month of October alone – a 71 per cent increase on October 2020, and the biggest month for online shopping ever.

The average shopper bought something online at least once per week during October 2021, and shoppers spent $25m online every day, on average, for the 31 days of October.

* NZ Post asks customers to change how they shop

* NZ Post prepares for increase in online shopping, some delays expected

That huge demand for online shopping has resulted in NZ Post delivering more than 2 million parcels every week, Dobson said.

Auckland's lockdown and its growing demand for package deliveries has NZ Post on the brink.

In Auckland NZ Post has seen the demand for online shopping reaching astronomical heights – with spending online more than doubling compared to October 2020.

In response to the demand, NZ Post has gone from delivering 440,000 parcels per week in Auckland to more than 760,000.

“We made 1.2 million extra deliveries in Auckland this October compared to last year, this enabled our customers to generate an extra $134m in revenue,” Dobson said.

And with the busy online shopping days of Singles' Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday upon us, Dobson doesn’t expect demand to let up any time soon.

“Early forecasting for the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales shows we are expecting Kiwis to spend almost $440m online in the next two weeks.

“We’ve brought on hundreds of extra people, we’ve extended our operating hours and are processing 24/7, and we’ve re-designed our Auckland network to get parcels where they need to be as fast as we can.”

Posties are now helping couriers, too.

“We have been bringing on as much extra capacity as we possibly can, and our performance has improved. About half of our parcels are now being delivered on time in Auckland and Hamilton, where we have seen the most volume, but some parcels in these areas are still seeing delays of up to four or five days.

“Deliveries are running more smoothly across the rest the country with most parcels being delivered on time, but with one day delays on some parcels.”

Dobson said New Zealanders will be keen to do their Christmas shopping in-store with retail restrictions now easing, but for those who are planning to do most of their shopping online, he has some tips to make sure everyone’s shopping will arrive on time and not get stuck in a backlog:

Take note of the Christmas cut-off dates for sending presents domestically at www.nzpost.co.nz/personal/christmas-sending-dates-2021 and send as early as you can
Some of the cut-off dates for sending overseas have already passed – and others are quickly approaching – make you’re aware of them before sending
Think ahead, start planning what you want and need to buy now
Make a list of what you need so you can place fewer, larger orders and reduce your shipping costs.
Consider bulk buying items that you usually purchase online monthly or weekly into one larger order that can be sent in one go.