Courier drivers will be interested to read that, according to Mintel a market intelligence agency, it is being forecast that there will be a big rise in the monetary value of online sales in 2020. This will no doubt please courier drivers and may encourage more people to set up a courier service business.

The growth in 2020 is forecast to be 23% on an annual basis with the delivery and courier sector predicted to get to a figure of £13.5 billion when compared with last year. In 2019, the figure was £11 billion so this is a huge forecast rise in online sales.

One of the reasons for this may be due to the pandemic as people may be concerned about venturing out to shops to buy things in person in case they catch COVID-19.

Some research sought by Mintel when 2,000 people aged 16 and over in the UK were contacted between 25th June to 1 July 2020 revealed that 42% had carried out more shopping on the Internet once the coronavirus had got under way.

Potentially, this is excellent news for courier drivers running their own business as it bodes well for the future if such an increase in online shopping materialises in the coming months. This is especially so when you consider the number of job losses that are being announced by numerous businesses here in the UK.

Another reason why people are making more online purchases could be the fact that there are an awful lot of people working from home so they are more likely to be in when their purchases arrive on their doorstep.

So, if you have been thinking of setting up as a courier, now may be a good time to do so. Obviously, you may wish to get some professional advise in this respect. You will also need to sort out some courier insurance so why not get in contact with us in this respect to obtain a competitive quotation without any obligation.