E-commerce sales are expected to hit $94.7bn this peak season, representing almost 11 percent of retail sales in November and December, an all-time high, according to eMarketer. Total retail sales are expected to rise 3.3 percent to $884.50bn, eMarketer estimated.
UPS expects to handle 700 million parcels this season, up 17 percent from 2015. FedEx is projecting a 10-percent increase in shipping volume over last year’s record of 325 million parcels. Its volume is expected to be more than 25 million packages each Monday during the peak season, compared to 12 million on an average day. Mondays are busier due to the combination of weekend e-commerce orders being fulfilled and inventories being replenished.
The U.S. Postal Service said it will handle about 750 million packages this holiday season, an increase of more than 12 percent over last year. This is double the volume of packages handled just four years ago.
