The Hungarian webshops believed.
Within days, the Christmas shopping fever starts, when suddenly tens of thousands of people place their orders in online webshops. Apropos of this, the press asked the largest Hungarian online stores how long customers have to place their orders in order for December 24,
It is not worth postponing shopping in online webshops until the last days, as it is by no means certain that the Christmas gifts will arrive by December 24
– this was revealed from the responses of the largest domestic online stores. Világgazdaság also wanted to know from Alza, Media Mark and eMAG how much traffic they are experiencing this year, how long it is worth to place the order and what they recommend to customers, i.e. pick it up at a parcel point or have their order delivered by courier.
In order to ensure a peaceful and smooth Christmas season, Alza customers can now confidently order products in stock with Christmas delivery until December 22, Alza wrote. According to the online store, the deadline is valid for delivery to stores and AlzaBoxes, and may change to December 23 in light of the changing circumstances.
AlzaBoxes are open 24 hours a day, while the stores are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day of the week, until noon on December 24. Customers can now order in 400 Alzaboxes and five stores across the country, including their newest store in Győr, and AlzaPlus+ members can also order for free.
If the size of the product allows, we recommend delivery to Alzaboxes, as they are available 24 hours a day, every day of the week, we deliver large products to stores - they wrote.
As for turnover, according to Alza's own questionnaire survey in October, 25 percent of 858 respondents plan to spend over HUF 100,000, while 24 percent plan to spend between HUF 50,000 and 100,000, primarily on technical items and toys, and 19 percent indicated between 30,000 and 50,000 an amount between HUF, 24 percent between HUF 10,000 and HUF 30,000, while 9 percent under HUF 10,000 plans to spend on Christmas this year.
In response to a question from Világgazdaság, eMag stated that everything is currently going well in terms of deliveries: nearly three-quarters of eMAG's Black Friday orders held on November 15 were already delivered in the first week.
"We are preparing for this Christmas season with thorough planning and the expansion of the logistics network, we expect to fulfill the eMAG orders this December within 1-6 working days on average, it is worth calculating with such a deadline for Christmas orders."
When asked what they recommend, the courier service or parcel points, they wrote that which is more convenient for the customer. eMAG orders can be picked up at more than 1,200 parcel machines across the country, currently six to seven out of ten eMAG products are ordered by parcel machine collection, while the proportion of orders requested by home delivery is around 30-40 percent. If someone's order does not arrive on time, they are asked to contact their customer service, where they will help them individually.
"We advise you to place your orders by December 18 at the latest, so that your package will most likely arrive in time for Christmas. However, after December 18, we recommend picking up in-store, because in this way you can pick up the products in stock within an hour, and you can also use additional extra services," wrote Media Markt.
At the same time, they primarily offer home delivery during the holiday season. The capacity of parcel points and vending machines may be full in the days before Christmas, which may cause delays. In the case of delivery with a courier service, there is a greater chance that the order will reach its destination before the holidays.
They also revealed that the average order value in November was HUF 106,000 gross, which is an increase of approximately 3 percent compared to the same period last year, which, according to them, reflects the increase in willingness to buy in the most important month of the season.
Even the largest mail order companies encourage their customers to place their orders as quickly as possible. "The delivery time from the online order largely depends on the specific store and its resources, as it is their task to prepare the packages," declared GLS Hungary Kft. managing director.
Packeta also warns that in the case of delivery to package points, it is recommended to send it by December 18 at the latest, so that the desired package arrives before Christmas.
Magyar Posta, on the other hand, drew attention to the fact that only those packages from the Far East that were ordered weeks ago arrive on time.
Those who are now planning to order a Christmas gift from a foreign online store should also take into account the possibility that - due to the increased amount of packages at Christmas - they will receive their ordered products after the holidays, so we recommend that they choose from the range of domestic webshops instead - wrote the communication of Magyar Posta in his department's press response.
Cover image source: Pixabay.com
