With Black Friday fast approaching, consumers are set to take advantage of huge sales in the run-up to Christmas. For businesses preparing for the surge in orders, it is not too late to reach out to logistics and distribution suppliers for a retail delivery solution.
While the run-up to Christmas has always been a busy period, the introduction of Black Friday has led retailers to compete with one another by offering large discounts and fast delivery slots.
Without a doubt, Black Friday is the busiest day of the year for the majority of UK retailers, despite this phenomenon only being introduced to the UK seven years ago. Since then, we have seen around 60% of consumers taking advantage of these discounted sales, with an average spend of £315. However, in order for retailers to cope with this pre-Christmas boom, pressure must be ramped up on suppliers, manufacturers and couriers in order to have sufficient supply of stock to meet demand over the course of the Black Friday weekend to maximise sales and profit.
As a same-day courier service, we support retailers every year during the run-up to Black Friday and Christmas with a retail delivery service. While, of course, it’s never bad to be too busy, our ability to provide flexibility to ensure that retailers can cope with the demand means that we have become a trusted partner for suppliers, manufacturers and retailers.
If you’re looking to find out how you’d be able to cope with increased demand using a same-day courier service, carry on reading.
Stock Delivered in Time
Despite Black Friday being several weeks before Christmas, consumers are opting to shop online for Christmas presents far in advance, especially as we head into the second lockdown. With a worry of goods arriving too late due to extenuating demand, consumers want to receive their Christmas gift purchases fast and without delay, with 53% of consumers starting to shop for Christmas presents in October and November, according to Statista, and even 10% of consumers shopping as early as June.
With this in mind, retailers must ensure fast turnaround times so that purchased gifts and Black Friday sales can be delivered as soon as possible.
As Black Friday is undoubtedly the busiest day of the year, having a same-day courier service means that stock can be delivered on time, resulting in faster delivery for consumers to get hold of their purchases much quicker and without delay.
With a growing fleet of over 800 drivers nationwide, we have the flexibility and agility to ensure that all retailers relying on us for support during Black Friday can have their stock delivered the very same day with success.
Flexible with Demand
Of course, Black Friday is always predicted to be busier each year, with 2019 producing a record breaking number of sales and with an average increase of 4% in sales every year. It goes without saying, Black Friday is expected to be bigger than ever this November. The new normal has forced highstreet shoppers online and being able to fulfil this demand is paramount.
When the level of demand may not be anticipated or is higher than originally expected, it’s crucial that there is some flexibility in order to meet demand. A same-day courier can provide last minute support with fast response times and even the option to have later collections with an overnight delivery service so that products can be delivered even during the early hours or middle of the night.
Dedicated Drivers
We understand that during busy periods, you’ll need all the support you can get and it can really help to have someone who knows and understands not just the industry, but your business and its needs too.
When this is the case, a dedicated driver can be in charge of transporting Black Friday stock who are trained and equipped to meet the unique demands of your business and are able to understand your processes every step of the way. If you have any special requests or, for example, if your premises have a particular method of security, you can request to have a regular driver deliver the goods who knows and understands your business. With the pressures and stress for retailers during Black Friday, this can be a valuable benefit to using a trusted same-day courier as a partner.
Warehouse Consolidation
When effectively executed, warehouse consolidation can have a tremendous impact in supporting retailers on Black Friday by reducing costs and increasing profitability. It can also save retailers precious time and increase the efficiency of warehouse operations, therefore cutting costs and reducing unwanted and unnecessary errors, which are sometimes expected with the high amount of pressure.
Black Friday stock can be sourced much more quickly for when customers need them most and choosing a courier service provider with a 24-hour manned warehouse also enables a wider operational window for collections, therefore supporting the just-in-time movement of goods.
Ability to Source More Delivery Vehicles
With around 250 million parcels predicted to be delivered this Black Friday weekend, around 83,000 vehicles will be transporting these parcels across the United Kingdom, meaning that courier services must ramp up their fleet of vans in order to support retailers fully.
With a wide range of different-sized vehicles, including small vans and XLWB vans, we can even source larger vehicles to allow us to accommodate an increased number of parcels due to seasonal demand. This means that when retailers require more stock to be delivered to their premises from a supplier or manufacturer, we have the ability to carry more stock and safely transport it to the retailer.
Supporting You This Black Friday
Whether you’re a manufacturer or supplier looking to have your stock sent out in time for Black Friday, or you’re a retailer requiring stock to be in your hands before the busy period, it’s vital that you can rely on a trusted same-day courier service to cope with the inevitable demand.
Our same-day courier service is used by large name retailers nationwide. We handle supplier collection and deliveries any day of the week, at any time, so you can trust us when we promise your consignment will arrive on time, every time – especially during a busy Black Friday period.
If you’d like to find out more about how we can support you this Black Friday with our retail delivery service, please get in touch with us.