Fewer December packages delivered late; many complaints about late Christmas cards

Percentage wise, web shops and parcel deliverers delivered fewer packages late this past December. Sinterklaas in particular was more on time - only 3.5 percent of packages were late, compared to 5.5 percent in 2018. The delivery of Christmas cards, on the other hand, did not go well - 36 percent of people complained that their Christmas cards arrived after Christmas or even after New Year's, NOS reports based on a study by Q&A.

According to researcher Frank Quix, online stores and parcel deliverers did well with their holidays advertising campaigns last year. "In the beginning of November, consumers were already called to order presents on time and not to wait for the last minute. That paid off," he said to NOS. "What also helped was that the impact of Black Friday grew enormously last year, and that it was a week before Sinterklaas." So people ordered gifts a whole week in advance.

Why so many Christmas cards were late, the researcher could not say. "In any case, it is not the best achievement if 36 percent of people say that cards arrived too late. 36 percent are really bizarre," he said.

PostNL does not agree with the Q&A results on late Christmas cards, spokesperson Tahira Limon said to the broadcaster. "A lot went well," the spokesperson said. "A small part was delayed and we find that very annoying. That happens every year. On a normal day we send out 7 million letters in the country, at Christmas time that is double."

The postal company would not give NOS its own figures on the number of Christmas cards delivered late. "We report our performance every quarter. The last few times, 95 percent arrived on time. We are still striving for that. In February we will report on the past quarter."