UK independent parcel carrier Yodel successfully delivered a record number of flowers on Valentine’s Day and the Mothering Sunday weekend, with deliveries up 11.4% from last year on average across the two events.
More than 120,000 bouquets were delivered on 14 February, but Mother’s Day remains the most popular event for flower giving with 395,000 bouquets delivered over the weekend. Customer satisfaction with Mother’s Day deliveries also increased by 6% compared to 2018.
This year might have seen record volumes of flower deliveries for Yodel, but the network also saw some touching ways that drivers went the extra mile to make recipients feel special. Yodel driver Mike Bunting from the Leamington Spa customer delivery depot made an extra 150-mile round trip on his own time from Oxford to Leicester to make sure a customer’s mother got her flowers on Mother’s Day after the wrong address was accidentally entered at the point of order.
Meanwhile, Christian Ridal, from Yodel’s Health, Safety, Environment and Quality team, got involved in the client side of the operation at Arena Flowers on the Friday and then made Mother’s Day a special family affair by bringing his 85-year-old, flower-loving mum, Joan, to lend a helping hand at Yodel’s Leeds depot on the Sunday.
“It’s the second year that Mum has joined me. Seeing people’s faces light up when we delivered their bouquets was fantastic and she loved getting out on the road,” Christian commented.
Based on the number of deliveries, mums on the south coast appear to be the most “loved” in the UK with the highest number of flowers being distributed from Southampton on Mother’s Day.
Yodel has specialist sort facilities for flowers and other delicate items, such as wine, and delivers on behalf of major floral retailers including Serenata Flowers, Arena Flowers and Euroflorist.
John Hackett, managing director at Arena Flowers, commented: "Mother’s Day is a challenging day for delivery drivers so we’re hugely grateful for Yodel’s support in helping us have such a successful year. Despite it being our biggest ever week we achieved some remarkable results. This would not have been possible without the outstanding performance from Yodel’s team on the ground.”
Paul Isaia, UK regional director at eFlorist, part of the Euroflorist group, added: "Yodel made a real difference for us this Mother's Day with a record amount of deliveries made during Mother's Day. The team at Yodel were extremely proactive and our delivery success rate % was the highest it has ever been. Yodel really helped us exceed our goals this year."
Andrew Peeler, CEO of Yodel, concluded: “Thanks to our specialist handling capabilities, we have seen a significant rise in the number of flowers, bouquets and plants that we deliver. The growth reflects the consumer trend for ordering bouquets and plants online and our tracking tools and proactive delivery confirmation provide senders with peace of mind about the delivery of their gift.
“Every delivery matters to us, but flowers often have a special sentimental significance which means it is even more important that we get the deliveries right on the first attempt. Colleagues across the business play a role in planning for key dates and ensuring that the items are handled correctly and delivered on time, but it is down to our drivers to delight recipients on the doorstep and we have had some great feedback this year.”