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Peak Packaging Monday – Are you ready?

By Jake Kirk • Tuesday 15th November 2016

Peak Packaging Monday – Are you ready?

Traditionally in the UK, the final quarter of the year has been the busiest trading period, with UK retail and industry sectors seeing their sales turnover accelerate. This year, Peak Packaging Monday falls on 21st November. We see most companies placing orders for packaging materials, throughout ‘Peak season’, which is consequently the period of preparation for the final three months of the year. However, the rise in mobile optimisation, which for the first time ever in the UK accounted for over half of online sales (51%) during the period November 2015 to January 2016 according to the IMRG, demonstrated a shift in the way people shop.peak-packaging-monday

Not only have mobile phones become more secure, but payment processes on mobile devices have become slicker, fundamentally changing shopping behaviours. The ever increasing media activity and rise in technology encourages increased consumer spending in both high street and online. Celebrated dates in the calendar are becoming even more so popular, particularly as we see dedicated days for deals and discounts.

These trends have redefined key dates in the diary such as Cyber Monday, which this year falls on the 28th November and brings about increased e-commerce activity, with mobile phones being one of the key drivers.

Cyber Monday was a term used in 2005 in America, to encourage people to shop online. It was a day when American companies would apply deals and discounts to online purchases only. In 2015 Cyber Monday sales in the UK bought with it a better than expected £968m in sales, a 34% rise on last year according to City.am. VE, also stated that Cyber Monday sales saw an uplift of 139% which was a 97% increase from 2014.

Black Friday is another key day in the calendar, however, this day is mainly focused on in-store deals as opposed to online. The Telegraph reported that Black Friday has been around in America since the 1940’s, where shoppers have been lured into shops the day after Thanksgiving to receive discounts. Black Friday was then offered to UK consumers in 2010 by Amazon, however not many of us noticed back then, it wasn’t until 2013 when Asda offered huge discounts on a range of good, sparking mayhem as customers wrestled their way to the discounted goods, making headlines. The following year in 2014, many more retailers began to jump on the Black Friday bandwagon and the UK saw fights and Stampedes, with police being called into several retail shops in some towns and cities across Britain.

Black Friday saw sales of £810m in 2014 which increased massively in 2015 reaching £1.1bn, reported by the Telegraph, and even though traditionally known for high street offers, Black Friday spawned a generation of savvy shoppers who know how to trawl the internet for a bargain, and so technology now plays a key role. For the first time ever, according to practical e-commerce, mobile shopping attained a 57% share, 43% on smartphones and 14% on tablets demonstrating the importance of technology and showing us why mobile should not be forgotten.

As one of the leading e-commerce packaging suppliers, it was clear to see the increase in mobile use and therefore to cater for our customers we invested in a mobile optimised site, making key days in the diary such as Peak packaging Monday a more enjoyable shopping experience, as we understand at such busy times, customers look for ease of shopping and the most convenient way available to them.

Key days such as Cyber Monday and Black Friday are becoming important days in the economy, these days see an increase in spending and profits, which in turn ramps up the requirement for all supporting sectors, therefore seeing a number of sectors reaping the benefits.

This all brings us to Peak Packaging Monday. In order to cope with the seasonal demand and the increase in online spending we are seeing, in part fuelled by key days in the calendar, packaging is a crucial part for thousands of companies across the UK for them to successfully complete the day-to-day running of their business.

It is a time where pressure is often experienced in many sectors, and the volume of orders being placed one week before Cyber Monday. On 21st November a large number of UK packaging companies will see a spike in their own sales, as businesses begin to stock up on protective goods, ready to deliver their products, one week later, on Cyber Monday.

Kite Packaging is set to have a successful Peak Packaging Monday since beginning its online division in 2004 and particularly more so after investing heavily in their online business, involving a complete re-design of their website, which saw their web development team involved in months of hard work and research.

For more information on Kite Packaging’s products and services please visit www.kitepackaging.co.uk.

Jake Kirk

Jake Kirk

15th November • 2016