The likes of Amazon and ASOS all delivered right up to Christmas Eve last year; but new research by the home delivery expert ParcelHero has revealed there is huge pent-up demand for deliveries on the big day itself.

From ASOS to Amazon to Argos, many retailers were pushing their Christmas online order dates right up to Christmas Eve last year. But new research from home delivery expert ParcelHero reveals there is a significant demand for deliveries on Christmas Day itself: and 20% of shoppers would pay up to £5 extra for a December 25th delivery.

ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks MILT, reveals: ‘Last year Brits spent £1bn online on Christmas Day.  For the first time a number of online retailers reported taking more orders on Christmas Day than Boxing Day, the traditional start of the sales season. Several retailers actually kicked-off their sales on the 25th; but not one retailer actually delivers items on the big day.’

Observes David: ‘Already food delivery companies such as Uber Eats and Just Eats are offering Christmas Day deliveries; so the next obvious step is online same-day deliveries on the 25th itself. And nearly 20% of shoppers told us they would pay up to £5 extra for a Christmas Day delivery if it got them out of an embarrassing situation or enabled them to spend gift vouchers and get their items immediately.’

David says: ‘ParcelHero’s renowned Christmas deadlines tool gives all the major stores’ final order dates; some of which are as late as the 24th. But there are several good reasons why customers told us they would want the option of a Christmas Day delivery. For example, some respondents told us they had been presented with unexpected gifts on the day in the past, with nothing to hand over in return. How much embarrassment could be saved if they were able to say, “Yours is just about to arrive”? And several shoppers told us that their children had been left disappointed on Christmas Day because they had been bought the wrong toy or were forgotten by a relative. A same-day order would soon restore the Christmas spirit.’

And another big reason why Christmas orders would be a great emergency option, says David, is for that moment when you suddenly know you have bought your partner the wrong present. ‘It’s not a great feeling when your loved one has clearly spent a fortune on an incredibly thoughtful gift for you, but that last-minute kitchen blender and novelty jumper you bought them clearly left them distinctly underwhelmed. How great to be able to have a second chance on the day itself.

‘And, of course, we have all experienced the pang of Christmas Day disappointment ourselves; as hoped for items fail to materialise amongst the new socks and bath products, despite all the hints. Last year Brits were given £2.2bn of unwanted Christmas gifts, according to eBay. How great it would be to be able to spend your gift vouchers on something you actually want that would still arrive on the big day itself.’

But David says there is an elephant in the room when it comes to Christmas deliveries. ‘Who would want to be out delivering on the 25th?  Changing retail customs on sensitive days is a delicate issue. When John Major’s Government introduced Sunday trading back in 1994 it was highly controversial, but consumers eventually embraced Sunday shopping; perhaps the same will hold true for Christmas Day deliveries? Not everyone in the UK takes part in Christian festivals, for example; while other distribution centre workers and drivers might be grateful to avoid reruns of Jingle All the Way and earn what would presumably be a significant bonus for delivering on Christmas Day itself.’

That might be the case, but, as yet, even online giants such as Amazon have not taken the leap to Christmas Day deliveries. So in order to see full list of final retailers’ order dates to arrive just before Christmas, and the last parcel mailing dates, see here.

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In celebration of Australia Day, Deliveroo has launched a range of ‘Edible Aussies’ – edible versions of Kylie Minogue and Chris Hemsworth -following a recent poll by the takeaway service to uncover the UK’s top Aussie crushes. The jellies, made from Australian favourites, Vegemite and Fosters, will be available to order on Deliveroo on Australia Day (26th January).

Costing the same as the average UK price of jar a of Vegemite – £2.10, the Edible Aussies range are the perfect accompaniments to go with your ‘shrimp on the barbie’ this Australia Day. Additionally, Deliveroo with be donating all proceeds to The Kangaroo Sanctuary in Central Australia.  

The jellies are available to customers residing in the UK’s highest density of Australian expats in the Battersea area.

Joe Groves at Deliveroo said “Australia Day is the perfect time to don your favourite pair of budgie smugglers, slip on your thongs and head down the boozer. What better way to celebrate our Australian customers than by paying homage to two of the most desired Australians on the planet. Chris and Kylie are a corker couple and we hope our customers will love the chance to devour our Edible Aussies range – less bush tucker, more lush pucker!”

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To help Brits combat the January blues with a splash of orange, Aperol – Italy’s iconic orange bittersweet aperitif, which celebrates its 100^th Anniversary later this year – has announced the return of ‘Aperol-ivery’, its free doorstep Aperol Spritz delivery service, for four days only.

Aperol-ivery will be kicking off on ‘Blue Monday’ (21 January 2019) for two days in the Greater London Area before continuing to Brighton and Bristol on 23^rd and 24^th January 2019, helping  Brits brighten up the dark January evenings in true Italian style.

So, what is an Aperol-ivery? An Italian Aperol bartender will arrive at winning addresses to make two refreshing, perfectly crafted Aperol Spritz cocktails, served from Aperol’s vibrant orange Aperitivo Van.

With Blue Monday named as the gloomiest day of the year – because of a combination factors including low bank balances, the end of the Christmas period and the weather – the return of Aperol-ivery is the perfect excuse to inject some much-needed optimism and spontaneity.

Paolo Tonellotto, Aperol Brand Ambassador and Bar Owner says, “I’ve always seen January as the perfect time to catch up with friends after the very busy Christmas time.  To me the ‘aperitivo’ culture in Italy is a great way to do this, a couple of drinks, a few snacks and some great company to share them with.  In Italy, ‘aperitivo’ is an everyday occurrence all year round – which, of course, always starts with an Aperol Spritz.”

Those looking to apply for the chance to win can do so at aperolivery.com.

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Asda has announced it’s now trialling in four stores its first pizza-delivery service in partnership with Just Eat, a leading global marketplace for online food delivery.

The delivery service which has already been trialled for nearly a month in Killingbeck in Leeds delivers within approximately a two-mile radius of the store. Customers can now order a selection of pizzas from the Asda Kitchen, in-store Diner priced at just £6 for a 16” pizza.

An extension of the trial is now being rolled out to three other stores in Beeston, Wakefield in West Yorkshire and Livingston, Scotland and will start from 19th November 2018.

Orders are placed online via the Just Eat food app and it then goes directly to the Asda store, freshly cooked in the in store diner and then delivered directly to your door.

The pizzas which are extra-large at 16” come in a variety of flavours including Margherita, American Sizzler, Pepperoni, Vegetable Supreme. There is also a special £15 meal deal that includes any pizza, 4 sides, 1 drink, dessert & dip.

The delivery service is available from the Asda Kitchen from lunchtime onwards, however, customers can also buy the pizza’s from the diner in store to choose to eat in or take away.

James Ainger, Asda’s Senior Buying Manager, said: “We are really excited to be trialling this new service in our store in Killingbeck, along with plans to roll out to three more stores later this month. We know our customers love Asda pizzas and now they can have them delivered to their doorstep.”

Asda and Just Eat said that if the trial is successful they will look to continue the rollout to more stores.

A Just Eat spokesperson added: “We have partnered with Asda on a localised trial for takeaway delivery in Leeds. This is part of our mission to offer customers the widest choice possible and we will continue to assess the results to determine whether we can expand our partnership further.”

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Häagen-Dazs is the first ice-cream brand to move into automated product delivery with its new mobile e-commerce technology ‘Häagen-Dazs NOW’. The service enables ice-cream to be ordered and delivered into the hands of consumers when out and about by using an innovative combination of proven mobile technologies. Created by agency Space and developed by Kerve, the brand is trialling the service this Friday, 7 September 2018, offering people in Russell Square, London, a chance to order and enjoy its ice creams without having to leave their spot in the September sunshine.

Visitors to Russell Square will be among the first to try out this new e-commerce service. Through a chatbot conversation platform in Facebook Messenger to place the order, web-based geo-location APIs then pinpoints the exact location through the mobile browser, with swift real-time syncing of data through web sockets to provide a seamless mobile e-commerce solution.  The technology also enables Häagen-Dazs to know the exact delivery location, even if the consumer is not standing still, and the consumer can see how far away their ice cream is – all in real-time.

Samuel Horner, Senior Brand Manager at Häagen-Dazs UK, said “’Häagen-Dazs NOW’ is a first for the ice-cream category, tapping into the growing trend for geo-targeted services.  We’re testing it to inform future consumer engagement plans, each of which aim to make every day extraordinary for our consumers. Who wouldn’t want a delicious Häagen-Dazs ice cream delivered to their exact spot at a summer event?

David Atkinson, Managing Partner at Space, added: “The future potential of geo-targeting is very exciting.  General Mills is an innovative business and it’s a pleasure to be given the opportunity to create ground-breaking initiatives together. This activity provides evidence of our collective consumer-centricity and a desire to provide utility and advantage to our consumers.”

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Franklin & Sons have launched the #FranklinFriday Gin-stant delivery service, offering office workers across London the chance to receive a free supply of its award-winning Franklin & Sons Natural Indian Tonic Water and Portobello Road Gin cans for their office this Friday 24th August.

Amongst the lucky winners were the IPM team, receiving a free supply of 300 cans.

To win, participants are required to simply follow @FranklinandSons and upload a photo of the Franklin’s Morris Minor onto their Instagram page with the hashtag #FranklinFriday and office name.

Perfectly combining two premium London brands, Franklin & Sons Natural Indian Tonic and Portobello Road Gin, creating a balanced and refreshingly crisp flavour in a convenient 250ml can.

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