OnBuy is Ready for The Christmas Rush and Reassures Brits Not to Panic About Empty Shelves

OnBuy, the fastest growing online marketplace in the UK, is urging Brits to stay calm about Christmas shopping as the platform has put tools and resources in play to help buyers find the gifts they want from its independent sellers.

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UK consumers are seeing empty shelves in shops for some goods and popular Christmas items as supply chain backlogs prevent inventory from sufficiently flowing to retailers and supermarkets.

As a result, shoppers have begun to start their holiday shopping early, including buying decorations and other Christmas-related items. In other words, the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) effect is in full swing.

OnBuy reports that in the first five days of October this year, they saw more searches for ‘Christmas trees,’ ‘wreaths,’ ‘baubles,’ ‘garlands,’ and other Christmas-related items than in the entire month of October last year.

And Advent Calendars topped the surge in queries with about a fivefold increase in searches on the eCommerce platform, compared to last year.

But as we enter the peak of the holiday shopping season, there are also concerns about on-time deliveries that could result in purchases arriving late.

Royal Mail on its website says, “We’re keeping the UK connected. Despite best efforts some services may be disrupted,” and APC Overnight equally warns customers, “Due to an increase in absence following a rise in COVID cases and isolation requirements, service delays are being experienced in some areas of the network.”

The combined effects of supply chain disruptions and domestic logistics challenges related to Covid-19 health and safety precautions are likely to make this year’s Christmas shopping season unpredictable again.

Shoppers already are worried about a repeat of 2020 as witnessed by the early shopping on OnBuy.

But unlike last year when the toilet paper shortage made the daily news at the beginning of the pandemic, Christmas gifts and related items are this year’s concern.

“As a result of a couple of turbulent years, we recognize that there are new challenges to the retail sector that we have not experienced before. To help alleviate additional pressure on supply chains and carrier networks this Christmas, it’s advised to shop a little smarter this year. Planning ahead and following the advice of the logistics companies will help to avoid disappointment.”

Mark Lister, Chief Commercial Officer at OnBuy

In many ways, consumers are already following this advice, but how ready are sellers on OnBuy?

OnBuy Succeeds When Sellers Succeed

Just as OnBuy’s Mark Lister says about shoppers needing to plan ahead, it’s also important for the 10,000 plus OnBuy sellers to do the same and ensure they are not just relying on one shipping service to handle their shipping.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all for deliveries when dealing with the various product sizes and values available online, and so having different options is key to getting it right this Christmas. Having integrations with multiple carriers through the holidays has become more and more crucial, and is the best way to make sure that your customers are getting the service levels they expect when doing their shopping online.”

Andrew Norman, Managing Director of ShipStation International

ShipStation is just the most recent integration on OnBuy that enables sellers to pivot easily between carriers as conditions warrant.

In addition, OnBuy recently teamed up with shipping platform Easyship and courier service Hermes to add to its 20+ existing shipping and fulfillment partners, with more to come.

OnBuy sellers can work directly with carriers or through shipping platforms, as well as offload the entire fulfillment operation to Third-Party Logistics (3PL) services.

There are probably more logistics choices than OnBuy’s seller base needs today. But the company is on a growth spurt, planning ahead to provide tools to help sellers succeed on its platform now and in the future.

The big positive with such an extensive list of shipping and logistics partners is that OnBuy sellers can be better prepared for a second unpredictable Christmas season. Call it an early bonus.

Sellers can set up a variety of shipping and logistics options now so they are not stuck if one service has issues.

Despite learning from last year, many carriers are expecting challenges again this year as supply chain problems and worker shortages will continue to linger into 2022.

It’s really best for sellers to over-prepare than under-deliver.

OnBuy for its part is convinced sellers will have a large variety of products that consumers want this season. The platform has been growing all year when others have seen their sales curve flatten.

In addition, the company has been busy adding more authorized brands like LEGO to expand the variety of products and brands on the marketplace sellers can offer.

“With such a wide variety of products available on OnBuy, customers can rest assured that there are plenty of options from major brands and chart-topping gifts for the season,” added Mark Lister confidently.

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