PostNL delivered around 12 million Sinterklaas gifts

In the run-up to Pakjesavond, PostNL processed a record number of around 12 million parcels in its distribution centers. Last year just under 10 million parcels were processed between Black Friday and December 4th, NU.nl reports.

According to PostNL, this figure was higher than expected, thanks to the increasing popularity of doing Sinterklaas shopping online. Black Friday and Cyber Monday were also busier than ever. The Dutch postal service is preparing for a similarly busy Christmas period.

The company received many complaints about packages not being delivered in time for Sinterklaas. PostNL struggled with a backlog due to the large number of packages. "There are delays, that is certainly true", a spokesperson said to the newspaper. He could not say how many packages were delivered late. "The majority of the orders were delivered on the promised day."

According to the Dutch Payments Association, around 2.4 billion euros in payments were made in the seven days leading up to Sinterklaas, slightly more than last year. A total of 991 million euros was spent in online stores through online payment platform iDeal, compared to almost 768 million euros last year.