Blog: Guaranteeing the act of gift giving this Christmas

I’m sure the majority of readers of this blog have a set morning routine before heading off to work. Mine involves a hot shower, an even hotter bowl of porridge and a quick look at the latest news stories being discussed on either the BBC or ITV that particular morning. On Wednesday I switched on the television and Kate Garraway stated that there are now only 100 days until Christmas (it’s 98 and counting now, obviously!). 

This just goes to show that the countdown begins as soon as the kids return to the classroom and the latest season of Strictly or the X Factor gets underway. At this precise moment I haven’t given Christmas shopping a single thought, however the Daily Mirror has reported that two in five Brits have already started buying gifts, whilst more than a million people had already finished the lot!

On the other side of the scale there are many millions of people that will continue to put off their gift buying until they face a mad dash around the shops or are left to frantically browse retail websites just as the first box of mince pies is being excitingly opened. That’s why Hermes is once again running its money back delivery guarantee this Christmas, which provides retailers and their customers with peace of mind ahead of the 2015 peak season.

The Hermes Guaranteed Christmas Delivery Promise, which is now in its third year, will help retailers to avoid disappointing consumers by guaranteeing that all online purchases will be delivered before Christmas Day.

We will ensure that for every parcel entering the Hermes network by 23.59 on Monday 21 December, at least one delivery attempt will be made before Christmas, otherwise we will refund the delivery charge. The initiative applies to all parcels with a mainland address in the UK.

During the last peak season we processed 24.4 million parcels, which was up 15% on 2013, and we expect that number to rise again this year. Therefore our preparation for peak started as far back as January. With a continued increase in activity, our retail clients are also finalising their own plans for their busiest and most important time of the year. Along with this ‘promise’, we have continued to substantially invest in our network and infrastructure to make it the most successful peak season to date.

• Joanne Morley, Head of Marketing, Hermes