Online retail volumes up 21pc in January

Online retail delivery order volumes were up 20.6 per cent year-on-year in January, according to the latest IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index.

This was the strongest January growth for online order volumes since 2013. The percentage of parcels arriving on-time rose to 90 per cent in January, from a record low of 85 per cent recorded in December. However, this was still down on January last year when it was at 93 per cent.

Andrew Starkey, head of e-logistics at IMRG said: “It was a very wet month for most of the UK, which can deter people from visiting their local high street, but it’s possible that post-peak returns may have had some influence on volume too. Given the record volume of Christmas orders – and the extended returns period that many retailers offer – it is likely that the volume of returns would also be high. Many of these would have found their way back into online channels for resale as part of the New Year sales.”