The study was carried out by Effigy Consulting, which examined 500,000 data points on over 300 carriers across 41 countries in its courier, express, and parcels (CEP) database.

Compared to the approximately 1.17 billion deliveries made during the 2023 peak season, peak festive delivery volumes in the UK are predicted to reach about 1.3 billion this year. The UK leads the leaderboard in terms of total deliveries anticipated over this time, and this 10.9% rise is the largest anticipated growth in Europe. 21% of all parcel delivery trends in Europe are expected to come from the UK between October and December of this year.

Germany comes in second to the UK, with an estimated 1.1 billion holiday parcel deliveries during peak season, an increase of 10.8% above 2023 projections. Next up is France, where more than 524.7 million packages are expected to be delivered before the year is over.

The peak season is a crucial time for UK businesses, as many depend on logistics and transportation to fulfill rising demand and deliver goods to their clients, said Alun Cornish, managing director of operations at FedEx. As a result of shifting consumer behavior and persistent cost concern in the market, online shopping, e-commerce, and a move toward postponed services will persist beyond this year's peak. FedEx's networks will grow and change to accommodate the UK's heightened Christmas delivery demand, offering both air and road transportation choices along with more predictive technology to handle any hiccups and ensure the success of the "golden quarter."