FedEx is gearing up to deliver large volumes of last-minute gifts for Valentine’s Day tomorrow(February 14) by putting on extra flights and trucking services.
Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest periods of the year for FedEx. The company said it expectsto ship millions of pounds of flowers, chocolates, jewelry and other gifts, making hundreds ofthousands of deliveries on top of its average daily volume of 9 million shipments in the run-up tothe special day.
To handle the influx of shipments during this period, FedEx and its networks of dedicated teammembers will add extra flights and trucks to normal operations. Additionally, select hubs andsortation facilities in the FedEx networks will be hosting additional, longer or dedicated flowersorts throughout the week to accommodate the incremental volume of Valentine’s Day flowers andgifts.
A survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers commissioned by the company showed that as many as 36% ofgift-givers “wait until the last minute” to purchase gifts for their loved ones.
According to the National Retail Federation, 26% of gift-givers in the USA plan to shop onlinefor Valentine’s Day. FedEx said it provides many of its e-commerce customers with thecapability to take orders as late as February 13 for delivery on Thursday, February 14, and expectsto deliver millions of tokens of affection in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day.
“Whether consumers have planned for weeks or waited until the last minute to ship theirvalentines, FedEx is committed to delivering for our customers,” said Paul Tronsor, ManagingDirector, FedEx Global Operations Control. “We are experts in planning and have the teams andtechnology in place to move millions of Valentine’s Day gifts around the world quickly andsafely.”
Last-minute shoppers in the USA buying gifts up to today (February 13) can use services such asFedEx Priority Overnight and FedEx Standard Overnight to get packages delivered in time forThursday, February 14. In addition, FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery offer evening andappointment delivery services, to make it more convenient for loved ones to be home to receivetheir Valentine’s Day gifts.
