Don’t even think about leaving your present buying and sending beyond 21st December, the home delivery specialist ParcelHero is warning last-minute shoppers.
ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks, cautions: ‘The last day before Christmas Eve is usually the top day for procrastinators – but this year it lands on a Sunday, so online orders are less likely to be processed and any parcel pick-ups will be very limited.
“Some shoppers seem to keep their head in the sand about everything Christmas until the last possible moment. Then they hastily order gifts online or finally get around to sending their parcels. Because the day before Christmas Eve – Last Chance Day – is on a Sunday this year it makes everything very tight for everyone in denial about Christmas. So we are urging shoppers to get their buying and sending completed on 21 December.
“Even the 21st is too late to order from a number of major stores. For example, you are already out of time for ordering online from House of Fraser, whose deadline was the 17th. And other stores such as Ann Summers, Dell, Evans Cycles, The White Company and Paul Smith all had earlier deadlines.’
ParcelHero reveals the 21 December is the final day possible for many key retailers, including:
The Body Shop,
Debenhams,
Harvey Nichols,
Jigsaw,
Liberty,
Urban Outfitters
Warehouse.
And the 21 is also the last recommended date to send presents to UK destinations using the main courier companies. Says David: ‘If you are planning to save money sending parcels using a parcel price comparison site such as ParcelHero, we strongly recommend you don’t leave it any later than 21st.
‘Christmas ostriches really do need to take their head out of the snow and get things organised for Saturday, because while you can leave ordering until as late as Christmas Eve, from the likes of Amazon, Argos, ASOS and Net-A-Porter, it’s certainly not going to be cheap!’
Here’s ParcelHero’s Amazon to Zara list of Christmas deadlines:
Amazon: 24th (13 cities around the UK)
Argos: 24th
ASOS: 23rd
Boden: 23rd
Body Shop: 21st
Ann Summers: 18th
Currys: 23rd
Disney Shop: 23rd
Debenhams: 21st
Dell: 17th
Evans Cycles: 17th
Gap 18th
Harrods: 22nd
Harvey Nichols: 20th
House of Fraser 17th
Jigsaw: 21st
John Lewis: 22nd
Liberty: 21st
M&S: 22nd (not food)
Net a Porter: 24th
Next: 22nd
Paul Smith: 19th
PC World: 23rd
The White Company: 20th
Urban Outfitters: 21st
Warehouse: 21st
Zara: 23rd
See ParcelHero’s online tool – revealing the final order dates for most of the UK’s major online retailers and last parcel mailing dates – at https://www.parcelhero.com/events/christmas-gifts-delivery
