A report mentioned in SHD Logistics on 19th November 2018, noted that a third of estimated Black Friday purchases this year will create an additional 210,000 deliveries.
Of the 30 million Black Friday orders expected this year, over a third of these are expected to be click and collect orders meaning the additional 17 million orders for home delivery, compared to the average day, will boost the number of van deliveries, putting added pressure on delivery drivers and companies.
A growing trend within the UK over the past few years, Black Friday 2018 is expected to generate £1.5 billion online sales, an increase of 12% on 2017’s efforts. Thanks to this surge, retailers and their logistics providers will be under tremendous pressure to cope with the demand of consumers to receive their goods in a timely fashion – especially with Christmas now just four weeks away.
However, with the excitement of reductions comes the likelihood of impulse purchases being returned and it is expected that 20 per cent of orders, equating to roughly £300million will be returned to retailers post Black Friday – just as the final big push for Christmas gets underway for the retail industry and their delivery providers.
In high pressure, peak seasons like Black Friday, it’s important that employers do all they can for their drivers in order to prepare them for busy periods. Ensuring they have training to help them cope on the road can help them tremendously, for example, courses on route planning, customer service and urban driving. Tricky residential areas, unexpected traffic and disgruntled customers are just some of the obstacles drivers will have to face – in addition to a long list of delivery locations to adhere to within their shift. These are some of the courses that are available through the RTITB Master Driver CPC Consortium, to help guide drivers with dealing with these types of day-to-day stresses.
RTITB has included a Black Friday sale for the past 3 years, to provide our customers with their training essentials at a reduced price. On Friday 23rd November, RTITB will be offering a range of MHE Instructor USBs, training DVDs and training documents at up to 59% off the full retail price. On Monday 26th November, RTITB’s Safety Monday promotion will see a reduction in safety essentials including selected Trainers Guides, Test Marking Sheets and much more.
Visit the Assist store from 8am tomorrow to save yourself some £££’s!