The gift-grabbing season?

Bonnie Hanson, LockerMD, Luxer One National VAR

As the holiday season approaches it’s time to start making your list and checking it twice. In the advent of COVID19 more and more gifts are delivered either to the giver or the end-recipient (or both!) via mail.

Half of shoppers did their 2020 holiday shopping online and plan to purchase the same amount, if not more, of their gifts online during the upcoming holiday season, according to Quantum Metric.

With many families unable to celebrate the holidays together in 2020:

50% did their holiday shopping online in 2020

50% plan to purchase the same amount if not more this coming season

64% expect the upcoming season to be more meaningful than in years prior, making Americans 56% more likely to be emotionally invested in the 2021 holidays.

I’m definitely in the ‘emotionally invested’ group. I spend hours searching for that perfect gift, in fact, I likely spend more time than money on my gift-giving investment. So certainly, I want to ensure my presents arrive to their (soon-to-be amazed) recipients.

Unfortunately, nearly 1 in 5 Americans say they have experienced packages being stolen from their building or front steps. (Hear my heartbreaking?) So, what’s a girl to do?

1. Track your packages. Sign up for emails or text alerts. If you’re receiving something be there or coordinate with someone to grab it for you. If you’re sending, check in with the recipient to ensure they received it.
2. Send packages to the post office. This is definitely less convenient but if it’s something of value and there isn’t a package management system at the receiving end, it may be worthwhile.
3. Check out package management systems for your community. There are lots of options, from setting up a dedicated room with monitoring to package lockers (think Amazon lockers but more suitable to a condominium / town home environment).

If a package does go missing Amazon, UPS and FedEx each have recourse under certain conditions. Before buying online from a retailer try to familiarize yourself with the “what if” scenario should your package not arrive.

However, with lighter restrictions and a bit of common sense, we’ll have more opportunities to deliver our special gifts in person this season. When possible, I like this option the best!

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