Warrnambool shoppers' online purchases doubled during lockdown

It has been so busy the company has expanded its workforce in Warrnambool and staff have been working longer hours.

And as the state reopens, postal workers have finally caught up with deliveries just in time for the peak Christmas rush which is set to make new records.

The growth in online shopping made August and September the busiest buying months for Warrnambool shoppers this year.

In September alone, online shopping purchases were up more than 90 per cent in Warrnambool compared to the same month in 2019.

The most popular items for online shoppers in the south-west was fashion and apparel, pet products and baby products.

But among them were some uncommon items with Warrnambool postal delivery coordinator Leon Craig revealing a special delivery of bees was one of the more unusual packages.

"We deliver a bit of everything, everything from insects to clothes," he said.

Mr Craig said they had been so busy staff were working extra hours, and delivery contractors had expanded their workforce to keep up with demand.

"Every lockdown that happens, our parcel volumes increase, outgoing parcels as well," he said.

A spokesperson for Australia Post said the pandemic had accelerated online shopping, and more people were shopping online now than ever before.

Australia Post said it was recruiting more than 4000 new team members ahead of Christmas across Australia with roles in processing, delivery and retail.

"Almost half of these team members are already onboard and helping us deliver record volumes," the spokesperson said.

"We are expecting this Christmas to be Australia Post's biggest on record."

Mr Craig said it was starting to get busy in Warrnambool in the lead up to Christmas.

"It will probably be busy all the way up until Christmas but we are preparing as best we can for the peak," he said.

"We're ready for some long days."

With business set to ramp up over the festive season, Australia Post has urged customers to send presents and cards in the mail as early as possible to give them the best chance of arriving in time.

Australia Post is expecting December to be its busiest ever with deliveries set to eclipse last year's 52 million parcels.

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