BARRIE – Canada Post says it is adding additional personnel and vehicles in anticipation of another busy holiday season amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
A spokesperson for Canada Post told CTVNews.ca in an email on Saturday that the business “continues to ramp up for a busy peak season as Canadians have become much more comfortable shopping. online during the pandemic “.
The company said that in 2020, in the two weeks ending Christmas Eve, its employees delivered nearly 20 million packages to Canadians. A record 2.4 million delivered on December 21.
But, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and lingering global supply chain issues, should Canadians be worried about delays in the delivery of vacation packages?
Here’s a closer look at what’s going on.
GET YOUR HOLIDAY TT SHOPPING
David Soberman is Professor of Marketing at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
He told CTVNews.ca that ultimately, transportation companies like Canada Post are the “last link” when it comes to the global supply chain and getting goods to consumers.
“Most supply chain issues occur at the retail level and further upstream,” he said in a telephone interview on Saturday.
Beyond increasing their ability to cope with an influx of packages during the holiday season, Soberman said there was not much else shipping companies could do to alleviate these problems for consumers.
He said customers should be sure to check the estimated delivery date listed online by retailers, to make sure their holiday gifts arrive on time.
However, Soberman warned that some specific and popular items might be particularly hard to find this year.
“What is someone going to do if they walk into Canadian Tire and can’t find something?” . “And then they’ll start looking on other sites. “
He said if everyone looking for the same item does the same, “eventually, you won’t be able to get it.”
“And that’s what’s going to happen with some of the more popular items – some toys, some board games, some electronics, and so on. “, did he declare.
Consumers should try to make their holiday shopping as early as possible, Soberman said, and should have backup gift ideas for loved ones, in case the item they want isn’t available.
Soberman also highlighted the COVID-19 pandemic, saying whether new variants are detected in Canada, or the pandemic? worsens, some areas could see new blockages or restrictions, which could hamper holiday shopping.
“The sooner you shop, the better,” he said.
WHAT DID CANADA POSTS SAY?
Canada Post said it encourages customers to “take the time to research retailers online to understand the availability of certain items and make sure they aren’t disappointed.”
The company also released a schedule for sending greeting cards and packages. Dates vary depending on what you are sending and where.
The deadline to send a package by regular mail to an address in Canada is December 9, while customers have until December 21 to ship priority packages to Canada.
The deadline to send a nationwide card is December 17th.
All details, including delivery times for international parcels, are available here.
Canada Post said the company is also taking several steps to deal with the busy holiday season.
The company said it was hiring an additional 4,200 seasonal workers across the country and adding 1,400 more vehicles to its fleet.
Canada Post is also “taking advantage of new sorting capacity” recently added in Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, Kitchener, Montreal and Moncton.
The company said it is also adding “temporary parcel pickup locations” in major urban centers and secondary markets to “ease congestion and queues for vacation parcel pickup at some of our offices. most frequented post ”.
WHAT UPS SAID?
In an email to CTVNews.ca, a UPS spokesperson noted no issues with shipping delays, but said that “the company’s dedicated employees make UPS well-equipped to face the challenges of the world. pandemic and peak holiday season ”.
The company said by the end of next year that it would have also added 49 new planes to its fleet since 2017, and said it would have added two million square feet of automated facilities by end of the year. According to UPS, nearly 90% of its packages will pass through these automated facilities.
UPS said investments in additional air and ground capacity and technology allow it to process about 130,000 more pieces of mail per hour than last year.
CTVNews.ca has also reached out to Amazon and FedEx to determine if Canadian customers can expect delivery delays, but has not had a response at time of publication.
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