November and December is not just peak season for e-commerce retailers – it’s make or break season.
According to Meteor Space, the ‘holiday season’ accounts for up to third (32%) of annual revenue for many e-commerce businesses. Successful shipments during this period are therefore critical to online sellers’ financial sustainability, so how did couriers perform in peak season 2024/2025?
More shipments ➡️ More delivery issues
Unless you specialise in seasonal goods, such as outdoor furniture (spring/summer) or stationery (back to school), peak e-commerce season runs from Halloween on Oct 31 to New Year’s Day sales on 1 Jan (covering major sales events like Singles Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and Boxing Day sales).
In the US, consumers spent a record $240 billion online in November and December 2024. In the UK, peak season online spending was 55% higher than September 2024.
But more sales leads to more shipments and more delivery issues. For instance, shipping software Sendcloud saw shipping volumes surge 31% in November and 43% in December, while the likelihood of lost packages increased by 21% in December and 41% in November.
Be it the additional pressure on couriers and heightened customer expectations (i.e. same-day or next-day delivery) or the adverse weather in the northern hemisphere and seasonal staff shortages (i.e. Royal Mail’s last Christmas delivery date was 20 Dec due to staffing problems), last mile delivery performance in peak season plummets like the temperatures.
Peak season shipment issues ➡️ greater financial damage
Lost and damaged shipments adversely impact your revenue streams and customer satisfaction at all times of the year, but during peak season, it can be detrimental – especially if it leads to a gift not ending up under the tree.
Poor delivery performance at this period can lead to:
- Loss of customer trust. 52% of shoppers hold the retailer responsible for delivery issues and 21% of shoppers lose trust in the retailer if a parcel fails to arrive as expected during peak season.
- Loss of future custom. A quarter (23%) of buyers will never shop with the retailer again due to the bad experience and 17% will tell their friends and family to avoid the retailer.
- Loss of profits. With many ecommerce retailers making a third of their revenue in peak season, lost or damaged shipments in this period can impact the whole year’s P&L.
Offset peak season delivery issues with claims automation
During peak season, you can’t control the weather or customers’ shopping habits, but you can control your claims processes for lost or damaged shipments.
Our data shows a huge rise in courier claims during peak season compared to the rest of the year (including a drop off post Christmas and a sharp rise on our customers’ return to work in January). For example, claims in week 50 (mid December) are over 5x higher than week 35 (end of August).
By using Claimit’s AI claims automation for delivery issues, you can:
- Recoup lost revenue. From reclaiming up to 15% of shipping costs to receiving compensation for lost or damaged goods.
- Spot the best couriers. Our dashboard analytics show you which of your couriers perform best during this period, so you can optimise for next year.
- Improve customer satisfaction. With the additional claims revenue, you can provide hassle-free replacements straightaway and avoid upsetting customers at a sensitive time.
Your sales rates and delivery success will fluctuate throughout the year – but with claims automation, you’re always getting high claims success rates. For example, we’ve achieved a win rate of over 90% from 16,000+ claims submitted in 2025 so far.
