DELIVERIES of outbound and inbound express mail and parcels had been delayed in recent days because of an increasing amount of year-end business and adverse snowy weather in Europe and America, China Post s Shenzhen office said Sunday.
The situation would not improve before the Spring Festival, the high season for courier services in China, it said.
Because of a shortage of international flights as a result of snowstorms in most European countries, a large number of mail and parcels destined for Europe had not been delivered in time.
Insiders said the booming e-commerce industry was another reason for the mail backlog, the Shenzhen Evening News reported yesterday.
Xiao You, who runs an online store selling cosmetics on Taobao, by far one of the most popular Web sites for online purchases, said she had suffered because of delayed deliveries.
Normally, it takes at most three days [for a parcel] to arrive in Shanghai, she said. Now it takes 10 days. I have to apologize to buyers each day.
A private courier company said it had extended work hours and dispatched more employees, but still could not improve the situation, the News report said.
Online shopping grew rapidly in China in 2009, with trade volume reaching around 250 billion yuan (US$37 million).
Buying online has become one of the most preferred shopping channels for Chinese consumers. Savings in time and costs plus convenience and an abundance of products had helped convert regular offline shoppers to online.
The most popular products online were home care products, computers and electronics and clothing and accessories.
China Post remains the dominant force and monopoly in the Chinese postal market. However, in the area of courier services and express parcels there is competition from the major international players such as Federal Express, United Parcel Service and DHL. (Mu Zi)
