Retailers face mounting pressure every peak season. In this DELIVER Europe 2025 session, Emma Clarke of Metapack outlined four proven strategies to boost performance — powered by data, not guesswork.

With over one billion shipments processed and 15 billion tracking events analysed, Metapack’s insights are grounded in reality. Emma Clarke, their Head of Product, shared a powerful framework for retailers preparing for peak — offering real-world examples, stats, and a dose of operational urgency.

1. PUDO: The Missed Opportunity

Despite offering over 1.3 million global collection points, PUDO (Pick-Up and Drop-Off) adoption remains astonishingly low — particularly in markets like the UK and Germany. In December 2024, UK PUDO use was <1%. Even in Germany, with robust infrastructure, it was just 2%.

Why? Because customers weren’t incentivised. But where cost incentives were introduced, adoption skyrocketed. A Netherlands retailer offering free PUDO via Metapack’s platform saw adoption jump from 3.8% to 65%.

PUDO also delivered a 99%+ first-time delivery success rate — dramatically outperforming home delivery at 82.8%. It reduces environmental impact by up to 66% per parcel, improves on-time performance, and lowers customer service costs. The conclusion? Retailers must step out of budget silos and see PUDO not as a cost, but a conversion lever.

2. The Power of Delivery Promise

Delivery promise — offering a guaranteed delivery date, not a vague range — boosts conversion. 58% of customers say they won’t purchase without it. During peak, one beauty retailer saw an 18% conversion lift (from 2.1% to 2.48%) after implementing Metapack’s dynamic delivery promise solution.

Clear, date-specific promises reduce “Where’s My Order?” contacts, improve trust, and increase repeat purchases. With tight margins and rising acquisition costs, this low-effort change drives measurable ROI.

3. Mature Multicarrier Strategy: An Untapped Advantage

Only 1 in 14 retailers currently use an advanced multicarrier setup. Yet those who did saw 50% better on-time performance over peak. The key is dynamic routing — choosing carriers based on real-time data, location, product type, or service level.

For example, during peak 2024, Cudden (UK) emerged as a delivery blackspot. Retailers using Metapack’s intelligence platform could reroute orders dynamically, avoiding delays and maintaining delivery promise integrity.

A mature multicarrier model isn’t just a convenience — it’s critical resilience. It ensures continuity during strikes, bad weather, or carrier disruptions and prevents expensive delivery failures.

4. Loss Prevention: £3.5 Billion at Stake

Doorstep theft, parcel loss, and fraud cost European retailers up to £3.5 billion during peak 2024. Even using conservative figures, Emma Clarke estimated £460M in losses, with over 3.7 million parcels officially marked as lost — and potentially up to 43 million unaccounted for.

Metapack flagged a sporting goods retailer that was losing £1M/week to fraud. By implementing intelligent carrier allocation based on spend, product, and address, they reduced disputed deliveries by 90% — saving nearly £6M in replacement stock.

Emma’s advice: Invest in visibility tools that flag potential losses, highlight patterns, and allow you to take proactive action before problems reach the customer.

The Message: Peak Is a Catalyst

Peak season magnifies delivery pain points. But with the right tooling and data strategy, it’s also a justification to invest in long-term improvements.

From incentivising PUDO and deploying validated delivery promises to implementing dynamic multicarrier logic and fraud mitigation — Metapack shows that profitability, resilience, and customer experience are all possible. The key is knowing where to look and how to act.