Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Belgian mail turns to sports stores to ease parcel overload

Published 02/12/2020, 11:06
Updated 02/12/2020, 11:11
© Reuters. Belgian post company Bpost struggles to deliver massive amounts of parcels during the Christmas period amid the COVID-19 outbreak

© Reuters. Belgian post company Bpost struggles to deliver massive amounts of parcels during the Christmas period amid the COVID-19 outbreak

By Bart Biesemans and Yves Herman

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium's post office has teamed up with the country's largest sports store chain as a shift to online purchases accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic has left it overloaded with packages.

Postal operator bpost is, like counterparts across the world, facing an unprecedented level of parcel deliveries as coronavirus restrictions have closed shops and confined people to their homes.

The postal service has hired an extra 3,000 temporary workers, increased deliveries to two per day in parts of the country and agreed a deal with sports chain Decathlon for Belgians to pick up some of their packages at its stores.

The Belgian postal service had to handle 78% more parcels in the second quarter of 2020 than a year earlier and last week hit a record of more than 600,000 packages delivered in a day.

Most non-food shops in Belgium were closed for two months in the first COVID-19 wave and for a month in the second wave, fuelling the rise in online purchases. Shops only reopened on Tuesday.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) said that independent businesses selling on its platform crossed $4.8 billion in worldwide sales from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, an increase of 60% from a year earlier.

© Reuters. Belgian post company Bpost struggles to deliver massive amounts of parcels during the Christmas period amid the COVID-19 outbreak

Bpost says it still aims to deliver 95% of parcels, with only 5% needing to be picked up from Decathlon and other stores around the country.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.