UPS: Online shoppers waiting later to get best bargains

Firms using address data to deliver products to customers can expect a boost in trade in the build-up to Christmas this year.

According to parcel delivery firm UPS, more than 120 million packages will be sent the week before Christmas, a rise of six per cent on last year.

Furthermore, the company expects daily package volume to exceed 25 million on five separate days in the ten days before Christmas, which only happened once in 2010.

UPS says that its estimated data indicates that there will be an increase in the number of consumers going online for their gifts.

It also suggests that shoppers are set to wait until the last minute in order to get the best deals on items closer to the holiday itself.

"Before the explosion of e-commerce, the holiday peak season stretched from Thanksgiving to Christmas, [but] now it's been compressed to the last two weeks before Christmas," the company said.

In response to the added demand, UPS has confirmed it will be taking on 55,000 more workers during the holiday period.