People now buy more durable items online like flour, canned food, rice or pasta. Sellers were more interested in buying over the internet in the spring. “It was no exception that the purchase was over three hundred kilograms. This will block many other customers from buying, because it will run out of capacity, ”explains Tesca spokesman Václav Koukolíček.
That is why they set the maximum weight of online shopping at 80 kilograms and increased the capacity of employees. At the same time, they observe a change in behavior directly at the store. People don’t go to the store that often, but they make shopping even bigger. “One or two members shop for the extended family so that they do not have to go to the shops,” adds Koukolíček.
A year-on-year comparison of the week at the turn of October and November shows that although customers made less purchases, they spent more on them. While the number of purchases fell by about a fifth, average spending increased by almost 30 percent. Overall, sales to stores increased by an average of six percent.
There has also been an increase in interest in shopping scanners, thanks to which people can load goods themselves and then no longer have to go to a regular cash register or self-service cash registers. Interest in online shopping and home delivery has increased by hundreds of percent.
“Currently, about two and a half to four thousand orders leave the warehouse every day. By Christmas, I expect that there will be even more orders than at present, “says Pavel Todt, Operations Director of Rohlík.cz. Not only sellers, but also distributors, transporters and transport services are facing the onslaught, even though Advent does not begin until two weeks later.
People pick up shipments in stone shops and newsagents
Domestic carriers are already reporting a year-on-year increase in the number of packages by tens of percent. Therefore, companies are preparing for a record season on a large scale. Even to cope with the onslaught of orders. They are hiring employees and expanding their dispensing points. The reason for such an enormous increase in orders are mainly orders on the Internet. The stone shops are closed.
Year-on-year, up to fifty percent more packages have been transported by Česká pošta in recent weeks. On the busiest days, there were about half a million shipments last year. The Czech Post has prepared for this season, among other things, by launching external Balíkovny. It will open 1,500 in November.
“It can be in various places, for example in newsagents,” says Czech Post spokesman Matyáš Vitík. Customers only need the code that they receive in a text message or by e-mail to issue the package. Translation and delivery depots are now also processing more packages.
For example, at the depot in Nehvizdy near Prague, they process around 55,000 packages a day. And the numbers are likely to grow, so he’s looking for reinforcements. “Drivers, warehouse workers, operations operators, dispatchers, so all these positions are currently open, as well as customer service operators,” says Simona Kijonková, the founder and owner of the Shipyard.
Some shops serve as dispensing points of the Mailbox, similarly to Balíkovny. They hope that the service will bring them new customers. “The commission will definitely not cover the staff costs or rent, but it is a beautiful form of advertising,” says Eva Žáková, owner of the BotaBota retail network, where customers pick up orders.
Customers make less purchases, but spend more on them
Workers are also looking for other carriers and delivery companies. “People from gastronomy who have lost their jobs, for example, apply to us,” adds a spokesman for the Czech Post, Vitík. For example, other companies also need to create reserves for the season. “We assume that some employees may be quarantined,” adds Milan Loidl, PPL’s marketing director. Only in the distribution center in Říčany, up to 150 people work in one shift. The company must have dozens of employees in reserve.
The most important business periods of the year are still ahead of them. In December, when it is Advent and Christmas, sales in hypermarkets, for example, are 20 percent above the overall average. And for example in drugstores, the figure is almost double.
The period around Christmas and New Year’s Eve is also important for manufacturers and suppliers of goods. For example, the sale of frozen dough in December is up to eight times higher than in the rest of the year, perfumes are sold four times and some alcoholic beverages, including sparkling wines, three times more than usual.
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