PostNL braces holiday surge as pickup points overflow between Black Friday, Sinterklaas
Just as the Black Friday rush ended, post and parcel delivery companies are preparing for peak demand in the Sinterklaas shopping period.
PostNL says that 40 percent more parcels are being delivered outside the home this year, and use of package lockers has increased by about 60 percent. “It indicates that consumers want more control over the delivery moment,” a spokesperson said.
On a normal day, PostNL delivers about 1.2 million parcels. Around this time last year, the company handled a record of roughly 3 million parcels in a single day. “And that demands something from the courier, the retailer who runs the pickup point, really from the entire operational network,” the spokesperson said.
NOS also reported that parcels are increasingly being delivered to pickup points. That places heavy pressure on small business owners who operate a pickup point alongside their store. In Huissen near Arnhem, PostNL delivered four large carts of parcels to a magazine shop in a shopping center on Monday morning. Only two carts could be accepted because the shop was already full, said co-owner Anoeska de Kluys.
On Facebook, De Kluys urged customers to pick up their parcels from last week as soon as possible. “Sometimes people wait until all five parcels they ordered have arrived,” she said. “But now we ask them to come for even one parcel, otherwise it just won’t fit. And the storage room is already overflowing.”
PostNL courier Brandon Tijssen told NOS that he also struggles with overloaded pickup points. He cannot always unload large parcels. “Sometimes they just don’t have the space,” he said. “I take them back and they go to the sorting center. We try again the next day. Unfortunately that means people have to wait longer, but most understand.”
In Tiel, owners of a hobby shop that also serves as a pickup point say holiday stress often spills over into their store. “Many people order and send parcels for the holidays but don’t read their email carefully,” said owners Lindsay Velders and Pim Pippel. “And when their parcel isn’t there, they sometimes become aggressive toward us, pounding their fist on the table.”
The strain on local pickup points reflects pressure across PostNL’s national network. The company has warned that this year’s compressed holiday schedule — with only seven days between Black Friday and Sinterklaas, compared with at least 12 in previous years — leaves little room to spread out demand. PostNL is preparing for daily volumes to reach as high as 3 million parcels during the peak period, nearly triple its normal load.
To manage the surge, the company has added extra drivers, expanded its truck fleet and introduced an additional Sunday delivery day. Sorting centers such as the one in Nieuwegein are already processing far more packages than usual, with workers describing a torrent that is difficult to keep up with despite months of preparation. PostNL has also asked retailers to stagger their online promotions to help spread deliveries more evenly.
