Black Friday 2020 has proved a bumper day for courier firm Aramex Australia with the network reporting record delivery volumes for the global online shopping event.
Deliveries exceeded expectations, rising by 39 per cent from Black Friday last year and lifting 43 per cent for the week.
Aramex CEO Peter Lipinski said there was no surprise the busiest depots across the week were Sydney and Melbourne. But he pointed to a fair share of business across the regions.
“We saw an impressive 100 per cent increase in parcel volumes at Bundaberg, and Geelong also performed extremely well relative to its size,” he said.
The spread of the business reflects the trend at Christmas 2019, which saw the parcel-delivery service record its biggest Christmas period. The number of parcels delivered over the break rose more than 450,000 on 2018, with Sydney, Melbourne, Port Macquarie, Surry Hills and Toowoomba delivering the greatest volume of parcels.
As the nation’s love of online shopping continues, with wine, alcohol and flat pack furniture the most popular items, Aussies’ Black Friday shopping habits included some surprising packages.
“We didn’t expect to see large spikes in vitamin sales and pet doors,” Lipinski said. “It’s possible Australians are using vitamins to offset their Covid-19 consumption and get fit again for summer, and purchasing doggy doors for pandemic puppies as people return to offices.”
Aramex Australia is a network of nearly 900 independently owned and operated small businesses across Australia. It offers international shipping through its membership of the global Aramex family to over 220 countries.
Formerly Fastway Couriers, the Australian business rebranded in 2019, three years after being acquired by the global logistics firm.
In August, the business launched a budget-priced courier franchise option. The new business model is an accessible entry-level franchise, with an upfront fee of between $5000 and $10,000.
