As Christmas draws ever nearer, a lot of our thoughts start to lean towards buying presents. There are a lot of lauded heroes around this time, from the bar and catering staff working to put on your Christmas party, to those in retail keeping their shops open right up until Christmas Eve and reopening for the Boxing Day sales. Yet one category of hero that often gets overlooked but are even more important in these days where online delivery is king, are the couriers. From customers to businesses, without them we’d all be stuck.

Helping Out Customers

According to research, in 2017 at least 12 million parcels were expected to go missing around Christmas. This was a follow up to a survey that claimed one in five people had ordered gifts which failed to arrive, with many consumers complaining about delays or products arriving in a damaged condition. This can ruin Christmas if customers’ presents, especially for their children, don’t arrive in time or turn up broken.

Couriers are under a lot of stress and pressure over the festive period, which is why choosing a reliable one is essential. Yet they can also be that lifeline for thousands of consumers who are either too busy to get out to the shops and do their Christmas shopping or leave it too late. Without the convenience of couriers, it would be a lot harder for many retail customers.

Image source Max Pixel

Supporting SMEs

The festive period, from Black Friday onwards, offers a lot of opportunity for many businesses. For start-ups and SMEs, it can be a great time to earn extra exposure, entice new customers with exciting deals and jump on the Cyber Monday, January sales and Christmas bandwagon.

New customers may try out an SME if they spot a good deal at this time especially and there are many factors which can help make them return. Price and quality are two important elements but so is the speed and reliability of delivery, which is why using a reputable courier service is vital for SMEs.

Enhancing Big Business Growth

Selecting the right courier for your business will depend on everything from the size of your company, what products you sell, in what regions and any specific delivery options you want to provide (next day, time specific etc.). For big, established online retailers relying on couriers is just as important over Christmas as that’s when many aim to hit sales targets.

Losing parcels, late deliveries and damaged goods arriving can quickly lead to even the most well-established businesses gaining a poor reputation. Couriers are the unsung heroes over Christmas who can help to maintain and even improve this for all sorts of companies.