With the festive season fast approaching it’s high time to begin organising those gifts for the kids and grandkids and getting them sent off as soon as possible as Australia Post reveals its key dates for Christmas delivery in preparation for “another busy” Christmas season.
The postal service recommends sending Christmas cards and gifts through Economy Air “as early as” November 14 while those using Internation Standard and Express have the gift of more time when it comes to getting packages to their desired destination for Christmas morning.
When posting with International Express to popular destinations such as the USA, the UK, New Zealand and Canada consumers are urged to ensure their gifts are sent by December 9.
Australia Post Executive General Manager, Customer and Commercial Gary Starr said the postal service has made an effort to provide consumers with as much notice as possible in order to ensure the best chance for packages to reach loved ones on time.
“We know our last sending dates provide an important guide for people in the lead up to Christmas and we’ve been preparing all year for another busy peak season to ensure things run as smoothly as possible,” Mr Starr said.
“For anyone who wants to send internationally for Christmas this year, we’re encouraging them to visit our website and post by the dates advised.
“As always, we’ll continue to deliver items sent after these dates as quickly as possible but they may not arrive until after Christmas.”
Australia Post indicated that the number of deliveries is beginning to surge as record numbers of Australians begin shopping for Christmas online, urging the public to get in as soon as possible when it comes to sending Christmas parcels.
Customers are encouraged to stay up to date by visiting auspost.com.au/christmas and searching by their desired delivery destination for more information.
The warning comes as the Christmas shopping rush is expected to hit early this festive season with research from Shopper finding that six in 10 shoppers are planning to get their Christmas shopping done early this year.
Avoiding the crowds and the price hike that comes during the major shopping period were among the reasons for 44 per cent of shoppers choosing to get their shopping done early.
Shopper’s Chief Marketing Officer, Karissa Fletcher said shopper numbers “will be high in the 12 weeks before Christmas”.
“While rising costs are a driver for shoppers to get in early for their holiday purchases, the convenience of shopping locally and the desire for in-person experiences remain key this festive season,” Fletcher said.