A new report ranks the average Christmas gift deliveries this Christmas in UK regions – South East comes top!
The Christmas season is upon us, and the excitement of Christmas shopping is evident nationwide. With a growing trend of online shopping, consumers are preparing to take advantage of the convenience and variety that e-commerce offers.
This year, over 140 million parcels are projected to be delivered across the country, showing a remarkable increase in online purchases. To meet this surge in demand, a fleet of approximately 401,889 delivery vans will be used, ensuring that gifts and goodies reach their destinations promptly for Christmas.
The 2024 Christmas delivery report by TEPS ranks the average spend and deliveries on Christmas Gifts this year across UK regions as a proportion of their population, revealing the most Christmas deliveries across the country and how delivery companies will handle this.
Key Findings
🎄🚚 Due to their population proportion, London will have 20.26 million parcels delivered this Christmas. This means just under 58,000 vans will make Christmas gift deliveries across London.
🎄🚚 Northern Ireland will spend the least on Christmas gifts with 4.32 million deliveries being made. On average, 12,350 vans will be needed to make these deliveries, a vast difference to London.
🎄🚚 The South East is the most significant overall spender, leading to an average of 21.6 million Christmas gifts being delivered this year. To do this, they will need, on average, 61,000 vans to deliver the Christmas gifts.
🎄🚚 Across the UK, Christmas gift spending online is an average of £326.66 per household.
Top 5 Highest UK Regions for Deliveries this Christmas
1. South East – 21,622,660 million Christmas gifts
Regarding the highest overall deliveries of Christmas gifts, the South East ranked 1st with an average spending of £2.5 million. Considering the population of those living in the South East, approximately 62,000 vans will be needed to deliver this number of gifts to households for Christmas.
2. London – 20,257,018 million Christmas gifts
Another significant region expected to see many deliveries this Christmas is London. London was the second most generous in spending at Christmas with 4,992,010 people ordering Christmas presents online. This means that London will need an average of 58,000 vans to keep deliveries on time for Christmas.
3. North West – 17,298,128 million Christmas gifts
The North West will deliver just over 17 million Christmas gifts this year due to its projected spending of £2 billion. Although it may be smaller in population by over a million, the adult population is set to thrive online this Christmas and have their gifts delivered.
4. West Midlands – 13,884,024 million Christmas gifts
The heart of England, the West Midlands, will have an average of 13.8 million Christmas gifts delivered to households this year. It will take an average of just over 39,000 vans to complete the mission.
5. South West – 13,201,203 million Christmas gifts
The South West is considerably smaller in terms of population; however, it is still among the top five UK regions with the most deliveries this Christmas, with 13.2 million Christmas gifts being delivered in an average of 37,700 vans.
How will Delivery Companies Handle this Demand?
To handle over 140 million gifts being delivered in the UK for Christmas, haulage companies need to be on track to meet these demands as everyone expects gifts before the 25th of December.
In the UK, an estimated 401,889 vans will be deployed to ensure the timely delivery of Christmas gifts in 2024. Each region has allocated a specific number of vans for delivery, with London requiring the most at, 57,877, and Northern Ireland needing the least, at 12,356 vans.
Paul Fordon, Managing Director of TEPS and a leader in meeting client demands, said, “We face significant challenges in meeting the increasing demands in the haulage and warehousing sectors. Factors such as logistical complexities and workforce shortages require us to enhance efficiency.
By embracing advanced route planning technologies and optimising our fleet, we can maximise productivity during the workday while maintaining high standards of quality and safety. By prioritising these aspects, we can better meet our clients’ expectations and stand out in our industry.”
As the UK gears up for another joyous holiday season, delivery services are working tirelessly to ensure every gift reaches its destination on time, spreading festive cheer nationwide.
Methodology
Population
Population and the under 18 age brackets is based on the statistics from 2023 by Statista and GOV.UK.
Average Spend in Area
Number of people spending online at Christmas was calculated through Oberlo’s percentage of consumers holiday shopping online and calculating the difference in the population for each regionally bracket.
The average spend per person was found by the key findings from IPA.
Number of Deliveries
Average amount of parcels per person were calculated by dividing average spend by the average online transaction made. The number of deliveries was then created by multiplying the number of people spending at Christmas by the average amount of parcels per person.
The average vans needed to make deliveries was calculated using Amazon’s calculations on how many packages stored in an Amazon van. This was then divided by the average amount of deliveries per region.