One in five Black Friday deliveries were delivered late after a 72 per cent increase in online orders, with logistics providers struggling to meet the demand, according to data released by logistics provider Shippit.

Black Friday 2019 grew to account for 3.5 per cent of annual online orders, up from 2.1 per cent the year prior, as consumers and retailers alike got behind the event this year. 

However, the failure to meet consumer demand is a huge missed opportunity, with one provider delivering only 64 per cent of their parcels on time. 

The statistics should cause concern for retailers, Shippit joint chief executive Rob Hango-Zada said, with investments in getting packages out quickly not necessarily getting products to customers faster. 

“Australia’s largest retailers have invested significantly in ensuring they can dispatch orders faster than ever with many offering same day dispatch even during peak,” Hango-Zada said. 

“On the other hand, there has been a consistent trend of carriers facing overwhelming demand, which hasn’t been met with the capacity to deliver on time to the end customer.”

According to Hango-Zada, the future of online retail is dependent on creating a more reliable delivery experience for shoppers – especially with bricks-and-mortar retailers getting in on Black Friday in 2019 creating more competition during a historically competitive period.

Australia Post said it set a record for parcels processed during a weekend over the period, with an estimated 5 million parcels processed. 

According to AusPost, more than 2 million parcels were delivered on Black Friday, an 18 per cent growth on the year prior, while Cyber Monday grew 12 per cent to 2.5 million.