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New Zealand Post workers are in the midst of a record Christmas amid a nationwide online shopping frenzy.
Since couriers deliver two million packages a week, the service asks the public to send gifts as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
At the Auckland Operations Center, where each CourierPost begins its journey to the larger city, automated conveyors, scanners and ramps help sort and dispatch packages.
New Zealand Post commercial marketing general manager Chris Wong said the systems were in overdrive, as was the case at every hub in the country.
“These are record levels and we expect the two million we received last week, that kind of volume, to continue through Christmas.”
He said the company’s peak season had started earlier than usual in November, when New Zealanders invaded online shopping sales.
After Cyber-Monday, Wong said the New Zealand Post received around 300 packages per minute.
About 70 per cent came from New Zealand companies.
Chris Wong, Managing Director of Business Marketing for New Zealand Post.
Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
“Despite everything that is happening around the world today and the fact that a recession is coming, we have seen absolute record levels of online shopping in November,” he said.
“Kiwis spent around 585 million in November, 27 percent more than at the same time last year.”
It’s not the first online shopping frenzy that New Zealand Post has been faced with recently, with the service invaded during the nationwide shutdown in March and April.
There were delays of tens of thousands of packages and weeks of delays for some customers.
On the streets of Botany, people out Christmas shopping weren’t particularly sure about the reliability of package delivery, with some telling RNZ they had sent gifts before or avoided it altogether.
Wong said the company was paying close attention to potential spikes in activity, including those due to supply chain issues from the Covid-19 disruption.
Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
New Zealand Post also expanded its fleet of delivery vans and hired hundreds more employees.
Denis Ozdemir, who is in charge of deliveries for Mount Wellington, said staying focused and always thinking two streets ahead was key to a successful day.
“Before you know it, you have a photographic memory of the address. When you look at the package, the number, it’s visual, you know exactly what house it is.”
“As challenging as it is, it is quite gratifying and satisfying to see the smiles on the faces of the people and the children who come to greet you and sometimes give you a hug, because you are more or less Santa at this time of year.”
New Zealand Post expects letters and packages sent before Monday December 21 to arrive in time for Christmas, along with courier packages sent before next Wednesday.
He suggested that people keep an eye on the cut-off dates on their website and send packages as soon as possible to ensure they get placed under the tree on time.
