The courier industry has been a part of British culture and the British economy for centuries.
In its simplest form, couriering can be traced back to messengers in ancient history. These were typically runners or horseback riders, but sometimes animals such as homing pigeons, camels, horses and even dogs were employed to deliver messages.
Messengers were typically employed by wealthy landowners and royals, while most laypeople were unable to read or write. These messages would often contain vital information about land disputes, marriages, courts summons, and even wars. Spies and political dissidents would frequently intercept post from the enemy, and the contents of these could make or break whole societies.
Couriers In Modern Times
The modern-day courier industry as we know it was formed in 1907 by Jim Cassey, who had borrowed £100 from a friend to set up a Seattle messenger service. This company would later become UPS.
In 1969, DHL was created. DHL made the postal service faster and more efficient by sending documents to the customs office ahead of the freight package. Most courier companies adopted this system shortly after.
It wasn’t until 1974, however, that DHL came to the UK. Prior to DHL, most UK citizens sent parcels by Royal Mail.
After DHL became successful in the UK, it was followed in 1978 by the establishment of TNT. Then, in 1980, TNT became Britain’s first next day delivery service, and just two years later TNT launched their gamechanging same-day delivery option .
In 2002, there was another great improvement in delivery services. Now, you could use a track and trace system to check the whereabouts of your parcel via the internet. Using online systems also enabled the booking of courier services through web forms, thereby allowing customers to book their deliveries from the comfort of their own home and making the process more efficient.
Today, we have a range of web-accessible, affordable, and open-to-all courier services that customers can pick and choose from depending on their own needs and preferences.
So how does the courier industry contribute to the modern-day UK economy? And what further developments can we expect in future?
Job Creation And The Couriering ‘Boom’
According to statistics from 2018, the courier industry employs 250,000 people across the UK. Of these, between 5-7% are self-employed drivers, and the majority of courier companies employed under 5 people, with just 25 companies employing 250 people or more.
Despite this, the demand for courier services in the UK has seen a significant boom in recent years, with a market value increase of 44% (from £7.6bn to £11bn) between 2014 and 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a further increase still, altering consumers’ shopping habits and driving more business online.
For example, before the pandemic, older customers were less likely to use online services to buy groceries and household items. But due to COVID-19’s risk to older people, more began to shop online. This has led the older generation to be one of the most significant driving forces of the recent boom in online shopping.
As a result of the increased online purchasing, by 2024 the UK courier market is expected to grow further and reach an estimated worth of £21bn.
The Benefits Of Couriers For Business
Nearly every business depends on couriers in one way or another. From shipping goods to receiving stock, couriers are used for safely transporting important items into the hands of their recipients. Using a courier means that it is easier to trace your item’s location, and most courier companies offer goods insurance.
Shipping may also be quicker and more reliable than using national post, and many couriers have low-cost options for light or short-range items.
All these aspects, and more, make using a courier an attractive prospect for small and medium enterprises, who may want to be assured that their goods will be delivered to the recipient safely, without risking the costs of refunding or replacing a broken item.
Couriers have also made shipping more convenient for small businesses – especially online shops that may not have physical premises – and this has helped them to compete against large companies that may have their own in-house delivery systems.
The Benefits Of Couriers For The Global Economy
The courier industry has made a significant contribution to the global economy, being worth a total of $80bn in 2008 and enabling businesses from individual countries to trade worldwide.
Plus, by supporting increased global commerce, couriers have allowed better trade relations to grow between Western nations and countries such as China, which previously had a largely closed economy.
On top of that, the industry is a large employer, that by 2018 supported 4.5 million jobs globally.
COVID-19 And The Future Of Courier Services
COVID-19 saw an increase in the rise of courier services as more people started to shop online to avoid supermarkets. And although lots of people are now going back to their usual routines, many older and clinically unwell people are still living in isolation.
This, combined with the convenience of courier services and online shopping, mean that many people have made ‘buying from home’ an important part of their weekly routine. So, does this all mean Covid has caused ‘the end of the high street’?
It’s unlikely. But there is no doubt that courier services provide great convenience and impressive efficiency, while helping vulnerable groups to stay safe from transferrable diseases.
For these reasons then, and more, it is likely the courier service industry will continue to grow in importance – and in valuation – for quite some time to come.
Sources:
https://www.securemediaservices.co.uk/uncategorised/a-brief-history-of-the-courier-industry/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1025238/postal-and-courier-activities-employment-uk/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/320817/uk-enterprises-in-the-postal-and-courier-activities-sector-by-employment-size-band/
https://www.insightdiy.co.uk/news/courier–express-delivery-market-forecast-to-reach-135bn-in-2020/8618.htm