With the rolling lockdowns continuing across many states and territories in Australia, online shopping and parcel deliveries have pushed mail services to breaking point.
The level of parcel volumes being sent currently are hitting heights not seen since Christmas last year. What’s more, that level of postage is being sustained at a constant rate, whereas the seasonal post typically surges for a month or so.
You may have noticed that a lot of your favourite retailers are putting little warning banners at the top of their sites telling customers to be aware that deliveries are being delayed currently. These are all due to this massive demand on delivery companies.
Australia Post, the nation’s biggest and oldest mail service, has said that they will be introducing new measures to keep deliveries moving during this time including undertaking a huge hiring blitz to boost staff numbers and ramp up weekend deliveries.
The company has already opened temporary pop-up sites to help with processing and now Australia Post have said that they are set to recruit more than 4,000 new team members nationally.
They’re also looking to hire an additional 3500 delivery roles, including 350 in regional areas, made up of more than 1000 drivers and 2100 staff to help sort parcels. Aus Post will also be taking on new customer support roles in Victoria and Queensland.
Aus Post brought in weekend deliveries to help deal with the rising number of deliveries during the last COVID wave and at the start of the current one. They have confirmed that these deliveries will also remain in place until the end of the year.
The company expects they will be delivering up to half a million parcels every weekend from now until Christmas.
More than 9 million Australians shopped online in the past financial year, with Australia Post’s 2021 Inside Online Shopping eCommerce report revealing almost 32 per cent growth year-on-year.
COVID safety requirements, fewer passenger flights resulting in reduced air freight capacity, and a reliance on overseas postal and delivery services, have all hampered postage systems across the world and in Australia.
Australia Post Executive General Manager for Community and Consumers, Nicole Sheffield, has said that these challenges have seen some customers experiencing delays, but that the vast majority of parcels were still arriving on time.
“Our posties and drivers have been out there since March last year often delivering on most days like it’s Christmas, and we know that Australians are relying on us more than ever and will continue to in the coming months, which is why we’re putting some key measures in place to be ready for our biggest Christmas ever,” Ms Sheffield said.
Sheffield said that it was all part of a two-pronged focus of delivering for Australians, while keeping our people and communities safe.
“We’ve introduced a series of measures to keep our people and customers safe, so while it means there might be some slight delays, Australians should know we’re working harder than ever to keep delivering their parcels safely.”
So there you have it, we’ve literally shopped until they’ve dropped — a trend we’re likely to see continue for as long as lockdowns remain in place.
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