The TrustPilot rating for independent parcel carrier, Yodel, increased by 1.2 points over the Peak period, from 5.3 at the beginning of November, to 6.5 at the end of December 2017.
This TrustPilot feedback is also reflected in 82% of online shoppers, surveyed by the company’s Have Your Say survey, reporting they had a good or great delivery experience. Around 6,000 people per day rate deliveries by Yodel, which is used by major retailers, including Arcadia, Very.co.uk and Majestic Wine.
Operating seven days a week during the Peak period, the company delivered 11% more parcels in the four weeks up to and including Christmas Eve, compared with the same period in 2016, and saw a 28% increase in parcels in the week before Christmas.
Yodel opened its state of the art Business Control Tower in September 2017, which was used to plan and execute a successful Peak. The centralised control centre provided 24/7 visibility of the entire UK operation. The team, based in the Business Control Tower at Hatfield, analysed insights and trends; harnessed big data to improve vehicle tracking, enhancing service levels; and reacted to changes - such as road closures or bad weather - taking pre-emptive actions, and informing clients in real time.
Yodel saw a marked increase in volume during Cyber Week, as the UK retail industry drove an increase in overall consumer spending during the extended Black Friday period, with more retailers taking part than ever before. Almost half (40%) of customers[i] surveyed said they spent more than they had initially planned this year, maximising the value of the offers spread over a longer four-day period. The online channel was the biggest winner, with IMRG reporting online retail sales of £18.2bn in November, up 11.7% year-on-year.
Mike Cooper, CEO of Yodel, said: “We’re delighted to see the increase in our TrustPilot rating over the Black Friday to Christmas period. Despite the snow and ice, and atypical shape of volume, which led to an unusually high number of parcels in the final week before Christmas, we were proud to successfully deliver millions of our clients’ promises.
“We strengthened our operational leadership team earlier this year, recruiting some experienced former retailers to prepare for Peak and support our operational turnaround. Over the past few months, we have seen consistently high levels of service, and the expertise of this new team has helped to progress our wider business transformation. As we continue our drive to improve service and customer experience, we are encouraged with how we performed over our busiest time of year, and enter 2018 with a renewed emphasis on driving improvements to the service we offer clients and to their customers.”