Parcel delivery company DPD Ireland has seen a dramatic increase in online deliveries since government restrictions advising people to stay at home were introduced.
Up to last Friday, the company said it was seeing a 200% increase in deliveries of electrical goods, with deliveries of food and pet accessories up by 100% and sports equipment up by 85%.
However, DPD Ireland chief executive Des Travers said he expected a significant drop in shipments from this week with many non-essential retailers shutting their doors, and the public becoming more conscious of their online spending.
"We will definitely see a fall-off as consumer sentiment starts to go down, with people concerned about spending," he said.
"Also, the Government's directive regarding essential services has reduced operations in many businesses although several do continue to trade online."
Many businesses have diversified to meet the current demand to buy online.
"Our customer The Handmade Soap Company, based in Meath, have included a sanitiser in their range and it’s flying out the door, all being purchased via their website. They are dispatching thousands of orders nightly now," Mr Travers said.
DPD Ireland has made changes to its doorstep delivery process amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
The express parcel delivery service said it has ceased passing the driver's scanner to the package recipient to capture a proof of delivery signature.
As well as changing its policy for signed-for items, the company has also stopped facilitating parcel collection from its depots, in order to protect customers and staff.
The company said its business was operating as normal in Ireland, but that it was experiencing delays with deliveries and collections in mainland Europe.
Particularly badly affected are Italy, Spain and Portugal, with 136 postcodes in Italy all between the range 24000 and 26016 having to be suspended from delivery and postcodes range 9650011 to 9676909 suspended in Portugal.
"Please do not dispatch to these postal codes, we do not want to impact an already challenged environment and there will be a charge incurred for the return", DPD said.
It also warned customers not to dispatch parcels to delivery locations that are now closed saying these will be returned directly to the sender.
DPD Ireland announced last year it was scaling up its Irish operations by increasing its sorting capacity in Athlone and boosting staff numbers in the country from 1,000 to 1,500. The company currently have 33 depots in Ireland.
