Yodel delivers record peak period as demand for food and wine soars

Yodel saw demand for alcohol and fresh food rocket in the peak period between 15 November and 2 January, with volumes up 89% on the same time last year and 3.2m parcels delivered. Fresh food parcels increased by 101%.

Across all categories, Yodel delivered a record number of parcels over the peak period, up 37.4% on the previous record set in the same period in 2019.

The surge in demand for food and drink is part of a wider trend to shop online during the pandemic.

A recent report from Kantar shows that lockdown has permanently changed some consumer’s shopping habits with digital orders making up 12.6% of all groceries in December, compared to 7.4% in the same month for 2019.

Mike Hancox, Yodel chief executive said: “The run-up to Christmas is always the busiest period for us but this was by far the most intense.

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“Christmas was different for everyone this year and we saw consumers looking to capitalise on the benefits of doorstep delivery. Food and drink e-commerce in particular was a key driver over the Christmas period.

“The whole year for us has been defined by the unprecedented numbers of parcels being delivered. We were operating at 2019 peak levels from March through to November, with volumes up 20% compared to a normal year.

“We operate a flexible network and understand the importance of ensuring that delicate goods are handled with care and delivered on time, especially over Christmas.

“Our state-of-the-art handling facilities and our specially trained colleagues hopefully helped consumers to have something to smile about this Christmas.”