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UPS Keeps Online Retailers Clicking


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For 2006, UPS Serves 20 of Top 25 E-Retailers

ATLANTA, Nov. 27, 2006 - As more and more consumers flock to the Web to purchase holiday gifts, the nation’s top online retailers are once again turning to UPS and its fleet of jets, trucks and state-of-the-art package tracking capabilities to ensure that cyber-shopping is as easy as a mouse click this holiday season.

While the Friday after Thanksgiving is the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, online retailers kicked off their busiest season today, which industry watchers have dubbed “Cyber Monday.” Industry analyst firm JupiterResearch forecasts a robust season this year with online holiday retail sales increasing 18 percent over last year. As a service provider to 20 of the top 25 e-retailers identified by Internet Retailer magazine, UPS keeps the online channel on track.

Harry & David, a multi-channel retailer with a strong online presence, works closely with UPS to deliver catalog and online orders to customer doorsteps, including time-sensitive gifts. For instance, UPS has helped Harry & David reduce the time in transit for its gift baskets by over 25%, enabling the Medford, Ore.-based company to fulfill orders up to three days before Christmas.

In fact, a significant portion of the millions Harry & David packages UPS delivers in December are handled during the final week before Christmas. To accommodate these last-minute orders, UPS turns the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport into a mini-air hub by chartering three jumbo jets into and out of the airport each day.

Andrew Quay, vice president of transportation for QVC, a multi-channel merchant with a strong online presence and a member of the top 25, said, “We work closely with UPS network planners to maximize UPS’s ground and air network to ensure timely holiday delivery from our distribution centers and vendors. UPS is an important strategic asset in helping to make our holiday season a success.”

As a primary carrier for QVC, UPS will deliver literally millions of QVC orders in December alone with some peak days reaching more than 800,000 packages. QVC has integrated UPS tracking within their website making it easy for customers to check package status.

In addition to managing retail supply chains, UPS also offers numerous web-based visibility solutions that enable companies to track packages. Additionally, e-tailers integrate UPS OnLine Tools into their online shopping sites, which gives shoppers tracking status of their orders via the Web. In fact, UPS has issued more than 380,000 licenses for its OnLine Tools over the past 18 months.

“UPS’s renowned reliability and premier technologies enable online retailers to meet their customers’ expectations even before the ’purchase’ button is clicked,” said Kurt Kuehn, senior vice president, UPS worldwide sales and marketing. “Integrating our technologies into customers’ businesses processes opens the doors for them to deliver better customer experiences.”

The reliable delivery of orders is an important contributor to customer loyalty, according to a fourth quarter 2005 survey commissioned by UPS, which found that 80 percent of online shoppers said a positive delivery experience would cause them to likely purchase from that online retailer again.

Along with the spike in UPS package volume during the holidays comes a spike in the number of package tracking requests. UPS expects more than 130 million online tracking requests during the week before Christmas. Further, the daily total of online tracking requests could exceed 25 million on UPS’s busiest day, which will occur this year on Wednesday, Dec. 20, when the company will handle more than 21 million packages worldwide.

From around the corner to more than 200 countries and territories across the globe, UPS has been delivering holiday cheer for more than 99 years. In the United States, UPS offers convenient access in every neighborhood. To find the nearest UPS location or additional holiday packing and shipping information, visit TheUPSStore.com, UPS.com/holiday, or call 1-800-PICK-UPS.

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Editor’s Note:
The UPS Corporate Public Relations team is ready to help with your holiday coverage. For the latest holiday facts and figures, packaging and shipping tips, local angles, or any other information needed to complete your stories, contact UPS Corporate Public Relations at (404) 828-7123 or visit pressroom.ups.com.



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