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If it hasn’t hit you yet, it’s coming: your annual present-buying panic. There are now only two weekends remaining before the big day and neither leaves any time for traipsing Oxford Street, especially on a mulled wine hangover.
Online ordering is the only feasible solution but the smartest shoppers aren’t risking last-minute delivery times — one in four Londoners reported late present arrivals last Christmas — or hurried trips home to catch the courier.
This year, the swiftest pseudo-Santa services are smart. From spoiler-free Alexa updates to eco-friendly pollution solutions, this is a last-minuters’ guide to hacking your December gift-grabbing.
Green giving
Buying your mum beeswax cling film and plastic-free soap is futile if you then get them delivered by gas-guzzling lorry. Transport of commercial goods accounts for about half of air pollutants in cities — and even more over the festive period.
Parcel delivery firm DPD is tackling this by using eco-friendly, four-wheeled, electric-assisted “cargo” bikes from Oxford-based start-up EAV (they can reach speeds of 20mph without leaving any level of pollution), while e-bike firm Bolt Bikes has just launched in London to help gig workers switch to a greener mode of transport.
Their chargeable electric bikes are currently used by Deliveroo riders and independent courier firm Stuart (used by companies including Swatch and Crosstown), and have been shown to reduce delivery times by up to 30 per cent in congested areas. Speed and sustainability in one.
Think outside the (post)box
Harrow techpreneur Paul Needler knows there’s nothing more nightmare-ish before Christmas than a “sorry we missed you” note through the letterbox. His City-based startup iParcelBox is an innovative solution: a weatherproof delivery box controlled by smartphone that lets you receive multiple secure deliveries when you’re not at home.
The box is compatible with Amazon, DPD, Royal Mail, DHL, UPS, Fedex and Hermes. All the courier has to do is press a button: the first delivery is accepted automatically and for subsequent parcels a smartphone notification alerts the customer, who unlocks the box remotely using the free app. The driver then scans the unique barcode inside the lid as proof of delivery.
For an ultra-secure upgrade, iParcelBox Premium lets you see the courier within the app via a CCTV camera, while Ring’s Video Doorbell (£89, ring.com) lets you answer the front door from your desk. It will alert you when the bell’s sensors detect motion, then, via a speaker, you can ask the courier to put your parcels in a secure place.
Polar express
Sometimes next-day delivery won’t cut it: a stream of retailers are now offering same-day services for last-minute Christmas jumper needs and Secret Santa panic-buys.
Net-A-Porter has a same-day service for its Premier customers in the capital (£12, net-a-porter.com). Amazon has confirmed purchasers can order same-day delivery right up until Christmas Eve (free with Prime membership, amazon.co.uk).
In some areas, plucky Prime members can even order as late as 21.15 on the Prime Now app for deliveries by midnight on Christmas Eve. A stocking-filler godsend.
No spoilers, please
Turns out Alexa isn’t very good at keeping secrets. Amazon’s virtual assistant was recently caught blurting out the present for a customer’s daughter (“parcel arriving — Instax”) so it has introduced a spoiler-free mode, promising not to reveal product names until the new year (in case of late Boxing Day buys, presumably).
You can also adjust your settings manually: go to Amazon Shopping notifications and opt to get delivery updates without Alexa saying exactly what the item is, or use Royal Mail’s new app (iOS and Android), which lets you give an item a code name. Disguise your sister’s incoming handbag as something boring like “washing powder” to avoid a festive faux-pas.
That’s a wr-app
Royal Mail has launched another clever app feature in time for Christmas: an augmented reality parcel-sizer that works out the right postage for your present without you having to leave the house.
Just allow the app to access your phone camera and position your item inside the virtual box: Its AR tech calculates the right format, size and price of your present before letting you purchase postage straight from your phone.
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