GREENPOINT, Brooklyn — Online sales and deliveries are up, and will continue to go up this holiday season, as more people shop for presents from home during the pandemic.
“It can be overwhelming but can’t miss out on those sales,” said Lara Eurdolian, founder of Pretty Connected Accessories, which specializes in fashionable multi-purpose straps and chains — including ones for masks.
“Sales have dramatically increased over the month. Everyone is shopping online,” she said.
And that’s just one of thousands of gift options on sites like Amazon and Etsy that people are buying and shipping from.
Amy Gibbs, a USPS spokesperson, said this year may be one for the record books.
“This year the volume is really hard to predict. We have COVID and people who are home more, they’re getting more used to shopping online. We’re seeing significant number increases.”
The U.S. Postal service said while Dec. 18 and 19 are shipping deadlines for Christmas, to keep up with the volume of deliveries, shop and ship even earlier — like this week.
To cope with the online shopping surge, Amazon is adding more warehouses, sorting centers and delivery facilities, and shipping companies like FedEx and UPS have expanded weekend deliveries and hired tens of thousands of extra seasonal workers.
As for small business like Pretty Connected, they’re also doing their best to keep up with demand.
“You just have to do what you have to do, hire more people, print more labels. You have to strike when iron is hot,” added Eurdolian.
Retailers are urging shoppers to pick up orders in stores or select curbside service when possible.
