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Leipzig/Dresden. Unsuitable or unpopular Christmas presents will keep the logistics industry on its toes in January. The German Parcel and Express Logistics Association (BPEX) estimates that 735 million parcels are sent in the run-up to Christmas. However, around one in four parcels is returned, according to the Returns Management Research Group at Otto Friedrich University Bamberg. This is not only the highest in a country comparison, but also ecologically questionable. Their study concludes: "Germany is the European returns champion".
Partial exchange by the end of January
The Saxony Consumer Center offers online an exchange check which can be used to quickly determine whether something can be exchanged. Anyone who has purchased a gift online, for example, generally has a 14-day right of withdrawal - some providers even advertise even more customer-friendly regulations around Christmas.
Items purchased from industry giant Amazon between November 1 and December 25 can be returned until January 31 or 30 days after receipt. Cameras, electronics, office supplies, computers, video games, CDs and DVDs can be returned until January 15 or 14 days after receipt.
Such items switch to low-priced return purchases, which then attract new bargain hunters, meaning that the original Christmas gifts are sent out again. Incidentally, clothing and shoes top the list of exchanged gifts in Germany.
Two tons of parcels per day
For employees in warehousing, postal and delivery services, this inevitably means that the stress will continue after Christmas. At DHL, for example, the return can be specified in the app, as can the drop-off location. The parcel carrier then comes by again and collects the goods. "We still have a significantly higher volume of shipments in January," confirms DHL spokesperson Hans-Christian Mennenga.
Even outside of the pre-Christmas period, a parcel carrier carries a weight of two tons every day, criticizes Frank Bsirske, the labour policy spokesman for the Green parliamentary group, who is considered a critic of working conditions in the logistics sector. According to the occupational atlas of the Barmer Institute for Health Systems Research (bifg), letter carriers, parcel carriers and courier drivers in Saxony were on sick leave for an average of 32.5 days last year. In contrast, the figure for all occupations in the state was only 25.4 days.
Parcel carriers often have backs
Unsurprisingly, back problems are at the top of the list. While the average number of sick days in Saxony is five, the sector averages 8.9 days of incapacity to work, almost twice as many. Injuries such as fractures or strains also occur at an above-average rate. In the delivery services and warehousing group, they led to 4.1 days of absence last year (average: 2.6 days).
The fact that many delivery staff are on sick leave is alarming. - Monika Welfen, Barmer Regional Managing Director
"The fact that many delivery staff are on sick leave is alarming," says Barmer Regional Managing Director Monika Welfens. "Constant stress and time pressure at work have an impact on health." She appeals to employers to pay more attention to the physical and mental well-being of their employees.
Customers, in turn, are asked to take a measured approach to postal and delivery services. One or two purchases can also be made during a stroll through the city and strengthen the local retail trade, Welfens reminds us.
New law to counteract this
Since January 1, 2025, parcels to be shipped must be labeled as to whether they weigh less than ten kilograms, more than ten kilograms or even more than 20 kilograms. A new draft law from the SPD and the Greens, which the CDU may also agree to, stipulates that parcels weighing more than 23 kilograms must be carried by two deliverers in future. Parcels weighing between 20 and 23 kilos will also only be allowed to be delivered by a single deliverer using technical aids.
Once this draft has passed the relevant committees, the Bundestag will vote on it. According to the German Parcel and Express Logistics Association (BPEX), around 260,500 people were employed in the sector in 2023.
Meanwhile, scientists at the Technical University of Braunschweig, for example, are researching a mobile delivery robot that can bring parcels from large delivery vehicles to the recipient's front door. The recipient's doorbell is replaced by an announcement text message.
