Preparing the EMS network for peak season

Peak season is the time of year when business to customer shipping reaches extremely high levels in a very short window of time. With the continued growth of e-commerce, customers are seconds away from making purchases and are no longer restricted from buying locally as online shopping opens up new cross-border shopping opportunities.

Convenience is key for holiday shopping and EMS operators are working with e-commerce sellers to deliver international items. Shopping online was the most viable option for many people in the world during the pandemic, as restrictions remain in many parts of the world, the online trend looks set to continue. For 2021, customers are more likely to buy earlier during the peak season and, similar to last year, a majority plan to have gifts shipped directly to recipients. EMS operators successfully support direct-to-consumer buying activity during peak season due to the digital accessibility of the product and the ability to serve cross-border markets.

EMS ready for holiday shopping events 

EMS operators are ready for these seasonal shopping demands. One of the earliest seasonal shopping peaks is ‘Singles Day’ in China on 11 November, a commercial holiday where shopping is promoted and retailers offer discounts on clothing, electronics, home goods, and many other items. On Singles Day 2020, 16 million products were on offer, with 250,000 brands, 5 million online retailers, and 800 million consumers participated. There were reportedly 583,000 orders per second during the peak period of the day.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday encompass the largest weekend of shopping in the United States and are now also shopping events around the world. In 2020, Covid-19 restrictions have favoured the convenience of the Cyber Monday, which promotes e-commerce shopping over brick and mortar retail shopping. In the United States, this peak shopping traditionally commences on Thanksgiving, and runs through to Cyber Monday. In 2020, 100 million US consumers shopped online and 58.7 million consumers shopped in physical stores. Throughout the weekend, shoppers spent an average of $311.75 on their purchases for the holidays.

Each year, EMS operators work hard to prepare for these large peak season volumes and are ready to ship items to customers worldwide. During this busy time of year, unlike many competitors, EMS does not increase pricing and can offer a reliable postal service that is valued by customers worldwide.