Canada Post's Christmas advice: Shop early, mail early

Canada Post is getting ready for the Christmas Rush
offering some helpful advice for customers 

Canada Post is ramping up its plan for the Christmas rush and for the national postal service the best advice that they have for their customers is shop early and mail sooner rather than later.

Noting how more and more Canadians have turned to online shopping, Canada Post anticipates a particularly busy period leading up to the Christmas holidays and that they say will result in a significant amount of parcels to deliver.

Observing as to the surge of late Christmas shopping that could test limits that they face when it comes to processing and delivering parcels, the national mail service has concerns that the volume ahead could be one which could overwhelm Canada Post's ability to get your gifts to their destination.

“We know how important these items are to you and we want to deliver. We also know there are many retailers of all sizes gearing up for your early shopping. We’re gearing up to help you and to help them have a great ending to a very challenging year. So this holiday season, please shop early. Support your favourite retailers. And most importantly, stay safe.” -- Rod Hart Canada Post Chief Customer and Marketing Officer

The message was reinforced by a video presentation from Mr. Hart 

A survey conducted for the Post Office this summer offered up a glimpse of what the Christmas mailing season may look like.

48% of Canadian shoppers plan on spending mostly or exclusively online this coming holiday. As well, 54% were open to begin shopping in October or early November. Shopping early and spreading out purchases is key to avoiding the traditional short-term surge in online holiday shopping. With the expected volumes, the addition of a traditional holiday parcel surge has the potential to overwhelm capacity and cause significant delays.

Postal sorting facilities across Canada are
anticipating a very busy few months ahead
(Canada Post photo)

As for how the Post Office plans to tackle the annual crush of Christmas and Holiday presents, they have outlined some of the measures they will have in place for 2020.

We’re adding more than 4,000 temporary seasonal employees, increasing our fleet by more than 1,000 vehicles and adding key equipment. 

We’ll deliver on weekends in many communities, add more parcel pickup locations and hours at many post offices will be extended. 

Processing equipment has been added at key locations in our network and will be fully utilized. 

We’ve added enhancements to our tracking technology to provide customers with improved information as they follow the progress of their parcels. Canada Post is also working with major customers to manage demand, improve the flow of parcels within our network and encourage Canadians to shop early.

More notes on their Christmas season planning can be found here.

Further items of interest on the Commercial sector can be explored here.