This year, shoppers smashed previous records for Black Friday and Cyber Monday spending, with over $7.9 billion spent online. As a result, multifamily properties have been bracing for the millions of package deliveries following in their wake. The dust has finally settled from Black Friday. Here's a snapshot of package delivery statistics from thousands of multifamily communities across the United States. These stats shed light on the aftermath of “the largest online shopping day in US history”, and paint a picture of the unique package management challenges apartment communities face every December. 

1. In one week, package delivery increased by 68%.

With over 39% of holiday shoppers planning to do their shopping equally in-store and online, it’s no surprise that package volume surged in the week following Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, the amount of packages shipped and delivered increased by 68%, compared to the week before Black Friday.

This huge jump follows the surge experienced in 2017, when package volume increased by 80% pre-Black Friday to post-Black Friday. 

We could be witnessing the emergence of a new status quo: the week following Black Friday, prepare for package delivery volume to nearly double. This knowledge can help property managers better prepare for the operational challenges in store.

2. Properties saw 5% more packages than in 2017.

On an individual level, shoppers ordered more packages this year than the 2017 Black Friday weekend—but not that many more. True, the week following Black Friday 2018 saw more packages per day delivered than in 2017—and for that matter, any other week in history. But shoppers seem to have settled into a groove; surveyed properties saw only 5% more total packages delivered this year during the same time period. The consumer behavior of shopping online for Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals has remained steady. 

This is good news for property managers. The jump from 2016-2017 was a massive 50% increase, and had that pace held, it would have put enormous pressure on package management systems. At a modest 5% increase, property managers have a ballpark estimate for what to expect from the post-Black Friday delivery spike.

3. Package deliveries to Oversized lockers jumped by 75%.

This year, 75% more packages were delivered to the Oversized locker in the week after Black Friday than the previous week. Besides giving this unique locker its biggest workout of the year, this massive increase highlights one of the most important ways a property can future-proof their package management solution: pay attention to scalability.

The Oversized locker serves two crucial functions: like the name implies, it accepts oversized packages and is big enough to fit any non-freight item a carrier will ship. It also serves as an overflow locker, and can take multiple packages at the same time. While many of the packages delivered to the Oversized locker this year did in fact need the extra wiggle room due to their size, many of these deliveries were from holiday overflow.

This scalability created a safety net that ensured thousands of packages were securely delivered to the lockers, instead of forcing the carriers to attempt delivery later (which is time consuming for them) or leave the packages out in the open (leaving them vulnerable to package pirates). That the Oversized locker saw so much use is an important reminder that a good package management solution must be scalable and adaptable.

4. Residents picked up their packages 43% faster.

Residents are especially eager to collect their packages this time of year. Automated package management systems allow for 24/7 pickup, meaning that residents can retrieve their deliveries as quickly as they want—and in the weeks after Black Friday, residents race to pick up packages faster than any other time of year. 

The average pickup time for 2018 is 16.4 hours. By ten days after Black Friday, the rate had dropped to only 9.4 hours. This happened naturally; residents are just inherently more excited to pick up their packages during the holiday season. 

This faster turnover helps automated systems like package lockers by freeing up locker compartments more quickly, opening them up for more deliveries. Accelerated pickup doesn't aid manual package management methods, such as retrieving packages from the front desk. But for automated systems, it goes a long way toward balancing the holiday delivery spike. 

5. Daily package volume is continuing to rise in December.

For property managers, Black Friday is only the beginning. The package delivery spike is on track to remain elevated throughout December. Two weeks after Black Friday, daily delivery volume has climbed to 98% higher than usual. 

This is not surprising; last year, delivery rates also increased as December continued instead of dropping back down. It's important for multifamily properties to be prepared for an entire month of extraordinarily high package volume.