| Your personal background. |
|---|
 UK Couriers
are now finding it extremely difficult to operate in a very competitive industry.
Their clients, who are either large enterprise businesses who are able to negotiate discounted prices, or small business and consumers who always
want the cheapest service. On top of that, UK Fuel prices and taxes have not helped the industry one bit
and many courier and haulage firms have bitten off more than they can chew and have gone
under. Cost rises don't stop there though. The UK Courier and Logistics firms have to contend with congestion charges,
motorway toll charges and a rise in insurance premiums.
Many Couriers give their customers contract rates, so that the customer knows where they stand,
and can make informed decisions about the pricing and sales strategy
of their products. This means that when unexpected increases occur,
for example in fuel, that the courier is left absorbing the cost.
A courier company that operates 50 delivery vans can see their fuel
costs increasing to over one hundred pounds a day,
just by a small price of a few pence on a litre.
Because of this, it's now not feasible for a courier to only half load his van - he has to make sure that they
are making as many deliveries as possible in one area to maximise their profit margin.
In the early 1900s Fortnum’s offered same day delivery by
horse and cart, and has delivered nationally through
Parcelforce Worldwide for 25 years. Ewan Venters, CEO of
Fortnum & Mason said: "Our customers are busier than ever and as such they need their shopping when it suits them. We know there’s a huge appetite for weekend deliveries as we already send out 500 packages every Saturday".
I can see this being a very popular option for consumers across the country as more retailers start offering Sunday deliveries.
Royal Mail have also announced that they will trial Sunday parcel
deliveries later this summer to addresses within the M25 motorway.
They will also pilot Sunday afternoon opening at around 100 of their delivery offices across the
UK later this summer.
CHRISTMAS is fast approaching but there’s still plenty of time to place
orders for presents, food and more in time for Christmas Day.
Of course it can be tempting to leave your shopping
to the last minute to get the best deals. But you don’t want
to leave things too late or you’ll end up with nothing or
you could be hit with higher delivery charges from retailers that
need to deliver your orders at shorter notice.
To help ensure you don't miss out - and get slapped with costly delivery fees - we’ve put together the ultimate guide to
shops last order dates, including how much it'll cost. We cover the last order
dates for the cheapest delivery, for the latest delivery, and for click and
collect delivery.
Here's what you need to know. Amazon offers a variety of delivery options.
For standard home delivery, you’ll need to place
your orders by December 21. Standard home delivery prices range between 99p and £4.49 depending on your order.
With Amazon's one-day home delivery service - which is free for Amazon Prime members and £5.99
for non-members - you can order up to December 23 and even receive your order on Christmas
Eve in selected locations. In selected locations in the UK, you can also get same-day delivery for free as an Amazon Prime member - otherwise, this
costs £6.99. Shoppers at Argos will be able to order products online and collect in store right up
until closing time on Christmas Eve (dependent on stock availability).
But if you're looking to have the gifts in the morning
on December 25 and you select standard delivery,
we'd advise shoppers to order a day before. But shoppers can also order up to 1pm on Christmas Eve to receive same-day Fast
Track delivery before 6pm, but keep in mind delivery
slots are booked on a first-come first-served basis. Home delivery costs from £3.95 for customers,
while the click-and-collect option is free of charge.
As with Amazon, ASOS lets you deliver up to 5pm on December 21 for standard home delivery.
This delivery will be free if you spend over £25, or £3 if you spend less.
Boden provides standard home delivery up to midnight on December 20, which is free when you spend £30 or more
or £3 if you spend less. Its express delivery service
can be used up to 5pm on December 23, and costs £5.75.
The online clothes catalogue also offers click-and-collect until December 23, costing no more than £3.50.
Last order dates for Currys PC World depends on what type of product
you’re buying. For smaller items, such as coffee-makers, you can leave your order until 8pm on December 23, provided it’s a next-day delivery.
Delivery costs range from free to £10. If your item is in stock at your local branch,
you can also click and collect your order at no extra charge.
Debenhams’ standard home delivery is free when you spend £50 or more, and you’ll need to place your
order by December 17. Spend less than £50 and it's £3.49.
The department store also lets you place next-day or nominated-day orders up to
December 21 for £3.99 and £4.99 respectively. Click-and-collect is available
until 9pm on December 22nd. Its is free for orders of £30
or more, otherwise costing £2.
If you’re ordering any sort of furniture, though,
you’ll need to check on a product-by-product basis.
Larger items of furniture, such as sofas, typically need to be ordered well
in advance of Christmas Day. Jeweller and watchmaker Ernest Jones has confirmed shoppers
need to order their Christmas gifts by December 20 at 2pm the latest if they choose
standard delivery, which costs £3. The retailer also offers
click-and-collect delivery for free to a selected number of stores.
Feelunique has a slightly earlier cut-off point for
standard home delivery at December 19, but its standard
service is free for orders over £20.
Buying less than this amount, and it's £3.95. It also offers a range of faster delivery services, including next day delivery, at prices up to £9.95.
Its ‘Tracked’ delivery service - which tracks your delivery’s progress - also requires you to order by December 19, and is
free for orders over £40. It costs £0.95 for orders between £20 and £40, and £4.95 for orders under £20.
Feelunique's click-and-collect service is also free for orders
over £40, and is available until December 21. Again, this
costs £0.95 for orders between £20 and £40, and £4.95 for
orders under £20. H. Samuel’s standard home delivery service is free when you spend over £49 pounds - otherwise it
costs £2.49.
 You can use its Express Delivery Solution delivery service - which costs £4.95 - until 7pm on December 23.
If your order is worth £500 or more, express delivery is
free. The Swedish fashion retailer offers standard home delivery at a cost of £3.99 until 5pm on December 21 for
most of the UK. Its next-day delivery service lets you buy in time for Christmas until 10pm until December 21.
It costs £5.99. You’ll need to be slightly quicker with
orders from Harvey Nichols. The department store’s standard service asks customers to order by December 17
and it costs £5. It also offers a next-day delivery service for most of its products at
a cost of £8, and a free click-and-collect service at all its UK stores.
The price of its hamper delivery service - which offers the home delivery of a selection of products for
special occasions - varies depending on your order.
House of Fraser advises customers to order by midnight on December 17
- both for click-and-collect and standard delivery - in order to receive their Christmas
gifts on time. Both delivery options cost £4.99.
John Lewis’s click-and-collect service
is available until December 22 and is free when you spend over £30.
Under this amount and it's £2. Its home delivery services vary depending on your order.
M&S’s standard home delivery service is £3.50, and
free for orders over £50.
Food bought from this service will need to be collected in-store on the
day you select, as home delivery is not available.
Collection is available at the majority of M&S stores. Standard home delivery
of New Look products is available until midnight on December 20 at a cost of
£3.99 - but it is free if you have a New Look Delivery Pass.
Its next-day delivery service typically costs £7.99,
but is free for orders totalling £100 or more.
Meanwhile, its click-and-collect service is free when you spend £45 or more.
Otherwise it costs £2.99. The last order date for this varies depending on your order. |
| Your feedback on this profile |
|---|
| Recommend this profile for User of the Day: |
I like this profile |
| Alert administrators to an offensive profile: |
I do not like this profile |
|
| Account data |
View |
| Team |
None |
|
