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SAN DIEGO, Ca., December 1, 2003 - As The UPS Store enters its first holiday shipping season, some 3,100 franchisees are preparing for what they anticipate to be a record-setting holiday for packaging and shipping services at their newly branded stores.
Earlier this year, approximately 90 percent of the Mail Boxes Etc. franchisee network chose to re-brand to The UPS Store and, in the process, lower their prices for UPS shipping by an average 20 percent. Since that time, overall UPS volume has more than doubled at The UPS Store locations. And now with Christmas and Hanukkah drawing near, the National Retail Federation is forecasting a 5.7 percent jump in holiday retail sales.
"We expect this to be a banner holiday season at The UPS Store," said Stuart Mathis, president of The UPS Store franchisor, Mail Boxes Etc., Inc., a subsidiary of UPS. "We’ve seen a tremendous consumer response to our UPS-direct shipping rates since their introduction this past April. The UPS Store combination of convenience, personal service and competitive prices is proving to be a tremendous value to consumers and small businesses."
UPS, which will ship more than 300 million packages this holiday season, predicts the busiest shipping days will be Monday, Dec. 15, through Wednesday, Dec. 17. To accommodate the heavier volume, UPS has scheduled additional and late pick-ups at The UPS Store centers on these and other key shipping dates.
For their part, most franchisees of The UPS Store are extending their hours of operation to accommodate customers’ busy holiday schedules. The company provides a sophisticated online locator at TheUPSStore.com to provide customers with information about the nearest locations, current hours of operation, directions and even maps.
Packaging supplies and services also are expected to be popular stress relievers as holiday gift-givers deal with the time crunch of this year’s shorter shopping and shipping season. Because Thanksgiving fell on Nov. 27 this year, there are only 18 delivery days during the peak shipping season before Christmas.
To make holiday shipping as easy as possible, The UPS Store offers these basic tips:
- Ship early: Avoid the holiday rush by planning to ship early. However, UPS can accept packages as late as Tuesday, Dec. 23, for delivery on Wednesday, Dec. 24.
- Spend wisely: Evaluate issues such as cost, convenience and service levels before deciding how to ship. For example, by shipping via UPS, your package can be tracked, plus insurance automatically is included on the first $100 of declared value.
- Avoid airport aggravation: With airlines enforcing luggage weight and carry-on limits, and since wrapped gifts cannot be taken through most airport security check points, holiday travelers should consider shipping gifts ahead of time.
- Pack like a pro: Use appropriate packaging techniques and materials, such as packing "peanuts" and bubble cushioning, to avoid having to replace gifts damaged due to improper packaging. Better yet...
- Leave the packing to the experts: Customers concerned about properly packaging their holiday gifts can bring them into any The UPS Store location to have them packed by trained and experienced professionals.
The UPS Store locations are franchised by Mail Boxes Etc., Inc. (MBE), a UPS company. The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. locations together comprise the world’s largest franchise network of retail shipping, postal and business service centers with more than 4,500 locations around the world. In the United States, The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. locations are independently owned and operated by licensed franchisees of Mail Boxes Etc., Inc. Outside the United States, locations are owned and operated by MBE master licensees or their franchisees. For additional information, please visit www.theupsstore.com or www.mbe.com.
For more information, contact:
- Jessica Moore, The UPS Store
(858) 455-8982
or Steve Holmes, UPS
(404) 828-7391
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