Online retailers last night breathed a sigh of relief as management at Royal Mail and union leaders agreed a ‘ceasefire’ deal which sees this weekend’s strike threat lifted and all further industrial action postponed until after the critical festive season.

The news comes as delivery management company Metapack revealed that a survey of its customers’ actual shipping volumes has shown a continuous and sustained positive upward trend since August.

Metapack’s customers range from John Lewis, Asos, M&S, Halfords and DSGi to medium-size online retailers using the IDIS Delivery Management System. For the research, Metapack analysed 50 of its customers over the last six months and came up with some promising results.

“Over the past three months we have noticed a definite increase in the number of parcels sent out through our system,” says Metapack CEO Patrick Wall. “While there has always been a gradual increase, in keeping with the rise in popularity of online shopping, since August sales have increased by 10% each month.”

“We feel we have a very representative customer base and pre-Christmas growth is happening across the board,” Wall added. “Customers are confident that their parcels will be delivered and continue to move towards online sales.”

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