Royal Mail has just announced that they will begin a trial of Sunday parcel deliveries for major retailers, with a view to offering the service seven days a week.
The trial is in response to changes in consumer behaviour and the boom of e-commerce over the last few months, which have accelerated because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Seven days a week
E-commerce stores offer the distinct advantage of remaining open 24/7. As a result, it is perhaps not surprising that a growing number of consumers are expecting deliveries every day as a standard.
“With some direct competitors already offering Sunday deliveries, the pressure is on for Royal Mail,” explains Chris Cook, our Customer Success Specialist. “E-commerce is to a large extent dictated by consumers. Given the current trends, from the decline of the high street to the rise in popularity of online shopping, the future would well mean a constant stream of deliveries from retailers.”
It’s also interesting that the last time Royal Mail tested the Sunday parcel deliveries, in 2014, the results weren’t good. If anything, this highlights the profound changes we’re seeing in e-commerce.
What this means for eBay sellers
If the Royal Mail Sunday parcel delivery service becomes established, it could be a game-changer for marketplace sellers.
According to Chris, “fast delivery times are always important on eBay, and, although they don’t currently consider Sunday as a working day, it's easy to see that a seven-day-a-week delivery service by Royal Mail would be a good thing for buyers, provided there are no extra costs associated with it.”
However, moving forward, this could also mean that the employees of delivery service companies aren’t the only ones having to work on a Sunday. As announced recently, Amazon sellers who use Seller Fulfilled Prime Update will be expected to ship one day over the weekend, which could mean a 6 or even 7-day week for e-commerce workers in the future. Check out this Tamebay article for more info.
As ever, we’ll be watching the developments closely, and keep you updated.
In the meantime, read more about changes to eBay shipping badges here.
For our take on the shift in consumer behaviour, click here.
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