The delivery firm DPD are to hire 3,500 drivers and 2,500 support staff due to soaring demand in online goods being bought on online.
People have turned buying their goods online since the lockdown started on 23 March and people are more likely to continue buying most items online.
Dwain McDonald chief executive of DPD said they have seen the “biggest boom in online retailing” the UK had ever seen due to the lockdown.
He said, “Since this began, we have been handling parcel volumes more akin to the festive seasonal peak than this time of year.”
Despite shops reopening DPD expects strong growth and are investing £200m in vehicles, regional depots.
McDonald said, “I do think the high street will bounce back from where things are now, but we have to base our modelling on our conversations with retailers and their projections.
“It looks like there will remain a much greater reliance on e-commerce in the future – that’s going to be our ‘new normal’.”
According to Helen Norman, editor of the industry publication Postal and Parcel Technology International, many people have turned to shopping online for the first time.
She said, “A lot of people have just started shopping online during the pandemic. People are experiencing it for the first time and they’re going to stick with it because it’s easy.”
Andy Barr, retail expert and co-founder of online price tracking website www.alertr.co.uk said, “Whilst we have seen a number of brands and retailers up and down the country closing their doors for good after struggling to stay afloat during lockdown.
“Some sectors have seen the reverse of this and business is booming. The new jobs being created during this time by businesses such as DPD will allow those who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 to have some optimism as they look to get back into the workforce.
“There is concern that whilst these jobs are needed now due to lockdown measures and many shops still remaining closed, will they still be needed as life begins to return to normality and people can once again venture out freely?
“If the queues outside IKEA and Primark are anything to go by, it seems Britons are itching to return to in-person shopping so we could well see demand for online shopping falter, but only time will tell.”
Leave a Comment