As retailers prepare for their busiest time of year, shipping solutions supplier World Options is gearing up for record deliveries, bolstered by shops anticipating the biggest Black Friday the UK has ever seen.
Manufacturers have already begun shipping huge quantities of merchandise through World Options to ensure shops and e-commerce sites are prepared for Black Friday (24th November) and Cyber Monday (27th November), which have grown in popularity in the UK since the American discounting tradition was adopted in 2010.
Already the supplier’s busiest month of the year, in November 2016 shipping volumes through World Options had increased by 463 per cent when compared to the same period in 2012, and this month the company is anticipating another record-breaking year.
Stewart Butler, Sales Director at World Options, said: “Black Friday is a pivotal point in the year for the nation’s retailers and it is vital that they have the stock in place to handle the huge volumes of purchases being made. The weekend kickstarts the festive shopping period and consumer demand is often non-stop from Black Friday until Christmas Eve.
“That’s why November is our busiest month of the year, with manufacturers and suppliers fulfilling all their deliveries well in advance of Black Friday so that everything is in place for the high demand that we have come to expect. It’s looking highly likely that November 2017 will again smash all records for our company.”
Based in Lancashire, World Options handles the global shipping of tens of thousands of items every month. The most popular destination for shipments outside of the UK is the US, followed closely by Germany, France and Ireland, with deliveries to destinations as far afield as Korea and New Zealand.
In contrast to the eleventh month, December can be a relatively quiet period for World Option’s manufacturing customers once orders have been met and stock has been shipped, compared with retailer customers who will be at their busiest until the new year.
Stewart said: “2017 has been an exciting time for us as we prepare to launch our new website and expand our global presence. This busy end to the year is paving the way for us to hit the ground running in 2018 and we are extremely confident about what the future holds for World Options.”
Retail data for the Black Friday period has shown considerable annual growth since the tradition came to the UK in 2010 and all indicators suggest this trend will continue in 2017. A report from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) and website VoucherCodes.co.uk revealed some £5.8 billion was spent during the four days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2016.
