The much-awaited holiday shopping season has finally arrived! To some, it may have come too soon or a little earlier. But in essence, that has been the case for the last few years. As you know, there have always been numerous announcements and anticipation around the coveted Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping deals. And that has been the case this year too.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday got many people running up and down the aisle last year. But 2021 is no exemption. E-commerce retailers and brick-and-mortar stores already started preparing for the big sales week. However, do you know what to expect during this year’s Thanksgiving week as far as package trends are concerned? Well, this article covers all that and much more. Read on to find out!
Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Overview of What to Expect in 2021
Unlike the previous years, there are new emerging trends in this year’s holiday shopping. We have witnessed to some degree the easing of COVID-19 measures and restrictions. However, there are a few pandemic-driven factors that will influence this year’s shopping, shipping, and overall package handling.
Looking at this year’s Black Friday shopping trends, some consumers plan to start shopping a little earlier than last year. The early shopping anxiety is mainly informed by experience from previous years. For instance, it’s somewhat attributed to the delivery delays often witnessed during the peak season as well as product shortages.
Again, unlike last year, in-store shopping is expected to rise following the easing of countrywide lockdowns and other restrictions. Another reason in-store shopping is likely to make a comeback is related to cost-cutting measures (shipping expenses) and avoiding longer delivery wait times due to package overflows. Well, this is only an overview of what’s on consumers’ tables at this year’s Black Friday and Cyber Week shopping.
Below is a detailed breakdown of each shopping trend to expect in 2021 Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Find out how they will affect your mailroom services and, most importantly, how to prepare your package room for the big sales week.
Shipping and Delivery Delays
To begin with, did you know that the United States Postal Service (USPS) handles about 500 million pieces of mail daily, while renowned shippers like UPS and FedEx deliver up to 34 million packages jointly? And with the holiday season here with us, we can expect these numbers to multiply significantly. So, are you ready to handle delivery delays between shippers and your tenants?
One thing’s certain; you should expect to receive several inquiries and perhaps complaints about packages that should have arrived but have been delayed. For this reason, you can consider staffing your customer support team and providing several alternative communication channels to avoid longer response wait times. All the same, expect to handle inquiries relating to package delays.
Increase in Black Friday Shopping
Holiday season shopping has set records in the last few years. In fact, the 2021 season does not show any signs of slowing down. The demand for Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping will continue to grow even higher this year. Many consumers are likely to purchase Black Friday deals, whether online or in-store. At the same time, online shopping on Cyber Monday may rise even more amid the fears of catching the virus.
What this means to your package room is that you should prepare to handle more packages than usual as package deliveries will increase during this time. In other words, expect and prepare your package room to be busier than any other time of the year. Online shopping will continue to reign supreme even this time.
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Package Overflow and Crowding
Consumers’ shopping can rise during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. So you can’t rule out the possibility of package overflow if you don’t plan well. During the Thanksgiving period, experiencing package overflow isn’t uncommon, considering that the holiday season also comes with many commitments.
Again, if you don’t organize your package room well in terms of pick-up times and locations, you will likely experience overcrowding in the mailrooms, pointing out our next point about safety concerns.
Health and Safety Amid the Pandemic
Usually, people will not find it appealing to collect their packages in overcrowded mailrooms simply because they don’t like crowded areas. However, this time, many people have more pandemic-related concerns around health, sanitary, and safety standards in the package rooms.
Finances and shipping delays can likely stress people. But their health and safety shouldn’t be a part of the stress. Consider putting the following in place to mitigate the risks of infection spread;
- Set up mail stops to designate specific locations where tenants can pick up their packages
- Consider self-service package pick-up systems and technologies like smart lockers
- Set up an overflow room just in case your mailroom fills up
- Set up automated text reminders for those who don’t pick up packages on time
Early Shopping Driven by Fear of Shortage and Delays
Closing our list on what to expect this Black Friday and Cyber Monday is an unlikely shopping habit; buying earlier enough. Many consumers seem to be aware and mindful of the likelihood of peak season shipping delays and are already planning to get their holiday shopping done as early as possible.
Also, consumers this year are well aware that their favorite shopping stores might run out of stock due to bulk buying that’s usually witnessed during the holiday season. Thus, many are likely to do their shopping earlier enough to avoid frustrations. This means that you should prepare to start receiving packages earlier than usual, lest you’re caught unprepared.
Parting Thoughts
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the overall holiday shopping season are always full of excitement. But it is never short of package managing stressors, like overflows. And as seems to be the case on most occasions, this time of the year calls for abreast and smart planning to easily walk through the package peak season.
Fortunately, our package room management software, Notifii Track, can go a long way to help keep residents in the know, save property managers time, effort, and resources by providing automated text reminders to tenants. Plus, it can seamlessly organize package intake and pick-ups and also save daily package intake data for accountability purposes.
So, schedule a demo with us and see how we can help make your mailroom management this holiday season become a success.
Read More:
Is Your Package Room System Ready for the Holiday Season? What You Need to Know
Package Management Stats for Property Managers
Package Overflow During the Holiday Season: How to Manage Personal Packages at the Workplace