A resident in Stockport became the first person in the country to return a potentially unwanted Christmas present, data from PayPoint reveals today. It hadn’t even got light when the first parcel was returned to a Collect+ store at 06:03 on Christmas Day. The next return was made in Manchester at 06:04.
Across Christmas Day, the most returns took place in London where 86 people sent back their parcels. In total, 398 people used the Collect+ service at their local convenience store to make a return on Christmas Day.
Nick Wiles, Chief Executive of PayPoint, said: “While many of us spent time with loved ones on Christmas Day, thousands of staff at convenience stores were hard at work. This year, more than any other, we’ve seen the importance of these jobs that help serve our communities.
“It’s thanks to them and their stores that people are able to make parcel returns at whatever time of day they like, even on public holidays. This is particularly advantageous for disgruntled Christmas gift recipients who were keen to send back what Santa brought them at the earliest opportunity.”
Collect+ is available in 10,000 local convenience stores across the country. It allows customers to collect parcels at a time that best suits them, and the majority of Collect+ outlets were open on Christmas Day. Many of the country’s 27,500 PayPoint stores were open on Christmas Day, providing services to local communities including groceries, parcels and access to cash, on a day when all banks and Post Offices were closed.
Swiftest Christmas Day Returns Top 10
6:03am Stockport, North West
6:04am Manchester, North West
6:25am Cambridge, East of England
6:52am Edinburgh, Scotland
6:53am Cottingham, Yorkshire and the Humber
7:39am Newcastle, North East
7:51am Leamington Spa, West Midlands
8:10am London, South East
8:15am Deal, South East
