Online Sales Up 14 Percent over the Holidays – FedEx, UPS and USPS Overcome Peak Shipping Season

This past holiday season, more shoppers chose to sit in and order their gifts online rather than brave the in-store hustle and bustle. According to IBM Digital Analytics, online sales grew 13.9 percent from November 1 to December 31 when compared with the same period in 2013.

It’s also important to note the growth of mobile commerce this holiday season, with sales from mobile devices accounting for almost one-quarter of online sales – an increase of 27 percent from 2013. (Online retailers – now would be a good time to make sure your website is mobile-friendly.)

With the surge in online sales, you might be wondering how shipping carriers fared during the year’s peak shipping season.

As it turns out, FedEx, UPS and the USPS each held their own during crunch time. The USPS delivered a whopping 28.2 million packages on December 22, breaking its own record for most parcels ever delivered in a single day in its 237-year history.

FedEx and UPS also stepped up to the plate. According to logistics software firm ShipMatrix, both shipping carriers delivered 98 percent of express packages on time by Christmas Eve – a significant improvement from last year’s holiday shipping season during which FedEx’s on-time performance was 90 percent and UPS’s was 83 percent.

As ecommerce continues to flourish, it will be interesting to see whether or not the postal industry will be able to keep up with the growing demand. If this past holiday season is any indicator, it looks like the postal industry is certainly up to the challenge.

For more insight, check out our ecommerce tips and trends page.