As retailers prepare for Black Friday (27th November), predicted to be the UK’s first £1bn online shopping day, Secured Mail is offering a ‘disaster recovery’ contingency to help online retailers whose delivery channels fail to cope with increased delivery demand.

Black Friday 2014 was bigger than the industry anticipated and as a result some retailers were left unprepared with lost orders and delayed deliveries.

This year is set to see four times the number of UK online shoppers, which means that retailers must make sure they get the logistics right.

Mark Bigley, Chief Executive at Secured Mail - the country’s fastest growing postal and packets operator - explains how the company is helping retailers to prepare for Black Friday this year. He said: “Black Friday is a huge sales opportunity for online retailers but increased demand often puts a strain on logistics. Retailers only have one chance to get it right – customers won’t forgive a second fail.

“Our aim is to help retailers cope with the sales surge as efficiently as possible and avoid many of the logistical issues experienced around Black Friday 2014. We believe that it is vital for retailers to monitor and identify any issues before they impact on the consumer.

“We can step in to sort out last-minute logistical issues real-time during Black Friday, all is not lost as we have the capacity, technology and expertise to achieve instant recovery.”

Advanced technology allows Secured Mail to handle 10 million items of post every day. At its fully automated hubs in Warrington and Luton, the company’s high speed automation operates within a robust, fail-safe structure.

Bigley continued: “We firmly believe that format and time is important when entrusted with managing retailers’ and their customers experience. The touchpoints throughout the process have to work harder to deliver confidence, feel-good factor and loyalty for consumers and peak times such as Black Friday are no exception.

“Consumers are at the heart of any business and it is vital that the overall customer experience remains consistent. We provide complete visibility from collection to injection, keeping customers informed and reassured.”

Secured Mail handles more than 500 million items of mail every year.

The company’s list of top tips for online retailers to consider when it comes to choosing the right delivery partner this Black Friday includes: