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Editorial: So did Black Friday deliver?

DeliveryX

After all the hype of Black Friday, Black Fiveday, Cyber Monday etc…. the figures are in. Drumroll please. The latest results from the IMRG today suggest that customers did spend a little lower than was estimated on Black Friday this year with less customers converting on the day itself. The figures tie in with the news that customers are researching more than ever online, before making a decision on whether or not to buy. John Lewis meanwhile reported a record trading week and its best Black Friday ever.
Delivery will play a huge role in the ultimate success of the event, after many shops reported that customers had gone virtual instead. Latest figures from IMRG and MetaPack showed that in October at least the use of next day delivery services was at its second highest rate yet recorded and it will be interesting to see if this increase is further heightened in November as shoppers looked to secure their Black Friday bargains.

Of course, one massive challenge that retailers will face both in the next few days after Black Friday but also after Christmas itself is that dreaded return of products as badly chosen gifts get returned for something more suitable. This week’s opinion piece therefore is extremely timely with Radial’s Enda Breslin explaining how companies can turn the post-Christmas returns challenge into a competitive advantage instead.

As immediacy becomes ever more important designer fashion retailer Matchesfashion.com has become the latest retailer to announce a 90 minute delivery facility. The company has partnered with On the Dot to offer the service, although it is limited to certain London postcodes.

In Ireland a post Brexit surge in demand has led to a pre-Christmas boom for Parcel Motel owner Nightline which has seen peak period come a month early thanks to more shoppers choosing to shop with UK brands.

For other retailers looking to ship internationally a new service launch from DHL could help. The company has launched an On demand delivery service to help improve international deliveries.

International supply chains and delivery obviously bring greater risk to retailers – especially when it comes to natural disasters. In a second opinion piece this week we therefore bring you some advice from Mark Morley, of OpenText, who looks at how to mitigate the effects of natural disasters such as the recent Hurricane Matthew. It’s definitely worth checking how you are exposed and how you could prepare for the worst.

See you next week!


Image credit: Fotolia

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