Last-mile delivery plays a critical role in the holiday season, particularly for last-minute shoppers who hope gifts will arrive in time for their celebrations with family and friends. Coresight Research's new report, Holiday 2024: The Last Mile—Trends and Challenges as We Enter the Holiday Shopping Season, analyzes trends and challenges expected to affect last-mile shipping during the 2024 holiday season and which retailers are likely to benefit from prior last-mile investments.
To understand the role that last-mile delivery will play in holiday 2024, Coresight Research conducted a survey of consumers and found that most holiday shoppers plan to use regular delivery to receive their online holiday purchases. There are several factors that play a role including the trend this year for consumers to shop earlier, aligning with earlier deals from retailers who are trying to capture as many consumer purchases as possible during the shorter holiday shopping period.
Key Takeaways:
- According to the survey results, three-quarters of respondents expect to use regular delivery for shipping during this year’s holiday season despite options for expedited shipping, BOPIS (Buy Online Pick-Up in Store) and curbside pickup. Of note, FedEx and UPS have announced more aggressive pricing and longer peak pricing durations than in previous years. Consumers who do not shop early this year may pay the price, as holiday shipping prices are expected to spike earlier and with higher rates than previous years. Without early holiday shopping from these consumers, retailers and shipping networks run the risk of delays and capacity issues when it counts.
- Higher fees combined with labor shortages could cause problems for small and mid-size businesses that don’t have negotiating power with shippers, and for consumers if they don’t plan their shopping in advance. A way to mitigate the pressure on retailers and parcel carriers is to push consumers to complete their shopping earlier with incentives such as early deals. These incentives should result in a demand that is more evenly distributed through the holiday season.
