14-10-2021
According to Kristi Unt, Member of the Board of Omniva, air transport all over the world has to cope with a huge number of packages due to the global shopping holiday. This means that the delivery time for international shipments may be longer in November and December.
‘All large and popular shopping platforms have now adapted to the changes in VAT in the European Union and now collect taxes at the time of purchase. This makes the shopping and delivery experience much easier and more convenient for the customer because when the package arrives, the logistics company performs the declaration activities and the customer does not have to do anything extra,’ explained Unt. ‘As it is easy for Europeans to order from abroad again, high growth is forecast for the peak e-commerce season. Therefore, we recommend start ordering your presents early this season.’
While the number of international shipments was very low in summer, August and September showed a 20–30% increase in parcel volumes. Internationally, the peak of parcel volumes begins in November and lasts until Christmas. At that time, according to Unt, longer delivery times must be taken into account.
‘For example, the AliExpress platform allows a maximum delivery time of 60 days. With this delivery time, presents ordered at the end of October may not be delivered by Christmas’, said Unt. ‘At the moment, however, when ordering from the AliExpress platform to Estonia, we recommend using the AliExpress Standard Shipping delivery service, which uses the most direct delivery channels.’ According to Omniva, some shipments from China to Estonia are delivered in a week and a half with this service.
In addition to Asian e-shops, large European e-shops such as Asos and AboutYou continue to be popular. ‘Although many know the former to be a shopping platform in the United Kingdom, Asos has also set up warehouses on European soil and purchases by Europeans are delivered within the European Union. This means that there is no additional declaration or tax obligation for these platforms,’ explained Unt.
In the peak months, more than half a million shipments arrive in Estonia from abroad, and the most popular country of origin is still China. According to Omniva, international shipments that have arrived in Estonia and passed customs procedures will be delivered to customers within a few days, and there is no reason to fear delivery delays in Estonia.
Source: Omniva