CHRISTMAS shoppers are being warned gift deliveries will take DOUBLE the amount of time to arrive due to a surge in online orders.
It comes as a combination of store closures and staff shortages have created the perfect shopping storm for the Christmas season.
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The second lockdown in England has also pushed more Brits to shop online, adding pressure on delivery networks that are already stretched.
Dino Rocos of the Future Retail Logistics consultancy predicts that shoppers who want items by Christmas will have to order up to ten days in advance.
This is double the usual delivery time of five days.
Mr Rocos, who used to run John Lewis’s logistics operation, told The Sun: “You simply can’t squeeze any more through the operations than they can cope with.”
Can I return a Christmas order that arrives late?
IT can be really frustrating if you order a Christmas present and it doesn’t arrive on time.
If you want to return your gift, for example, because you had to buy something else, we explain your rights.
For presents ordered by the store’s last delivery date – the one it advertises online – you will be entitled to your money back if you no longer want the item.
You’ll need to have proof of when you placed your order, such as an email confirmation.
The retailer will also expect you to return the item. According to Resolver, the store you purchased the product from will usually be responsible for covering return costs, but this does depend on its terms and conditions, so read carefully.
If you want to keep the gift, you may be able to claim back some cash from the delivery costs. Contact the retailer to see what it can offer you.
If you paid extra for specific-day delivery, and it arrived after this date, the retailer should off you money back on the delivery cost.
Or at the very least, you’ll get the difference in price between its standard delivery and premium delivery.
Meanwhile, David Jinks of courier firm ParcelHero predicts online spending could actually overtake in-store spending for the first time this Christmas.
It comes after “the Mount Everest of peaks” in online order demand this year, he said.
Mr Jinks told The Sun: “As Britain’s delivery companies are already operating at Christmas peak and beyond even before Christmas ordering starts to take off, the delivery system is stretched to breaking point.”
ParcelHero has created an online tool where shoppers can check the last delivery date for Christmas orders at major UK retailers.
Although some retailers, including Amazon and Argos, offer delivery as late as December 24, others have pulled back their deadlines from last year.
For example, Dell and HP both now have December 12 as the last order date for guaranteed Christmas delivery.
It comes as new research by Citizens Advice has found that 47% of UK adults have had issues with parcel delivery since the first lockdown.
The biggest problem consumers face is late delivery, with almost one in three people (30%) across the country facing a delay.
In September, shoppers were urged to order Christmas presents early this year to avoid delivery backlogs.
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Grocery shoppers were recently also warned about Christmas delivery chaos as slots fill up fast.
And last week, Tesco customers were left fuming after being forced to wait for more than an hour to secure a delivery slot for Christmas.
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
