Despite adamant claims that gifts would arrive in time for Christmas, it appears that many people were left empty-handed for the holidays. UPS was reportedly unable to deliver a substantial number of packages in time for Christmas, while Fedex claims that it only experienced "isolated incidents" of missed deliveries. According to NBC, "weeks of bad weather and higher demand from soaring online sales," as well as a shorter holiday season, are the main causes for the delivery backlog. BusinessWeek suggests that no one should have been surprised by the influx of online deliveries this year, since in-store shopping overall has trended down while online sales have continued to increase. Moreover, Amazon reported that "more than 1 million new people signed up for [Prime] in the third week of December," meaning a huge surge of customers were demanding the benefits of 2-day delivery immediately before Christmas. It's unclear how many retailers were affected by these delivery snafus, although we know that Amazon contacted affected customers to apologize; the retailer offered a $20 account credit to be used on a future purchase, in addition to refunding delivery fees. Prime customers might want to further inquire about receiving an additional month of services for free. (That said, one of our staffers reported that he was asked to choose between a credit or a shipping extension, in which case the $20 is the better value.) Walmart is reportedly also offering gift cards, although there's no word on what the amount is. Kohl's and Groupon also experienced delays. Regardless of the retailer, if you didn't receive a guaranteed package in time for Christmas, it's worth contacting a customer service representative, either by email or phone. There's a good chance that the retailer may extend a similar voucher or refund offer in order to maintain your business. Readers, did any of your guaranteed packages arrive late this year? Did you receive an apology from the retailer in question? Take our poll below and leave us a note in the comments section. Did one of your "guaranteed Christmas delivery" orders arrive late this year? Related DealNews Features: How to Get 1 Month of Amazon Prime for Free Target's In-Store Security Breach Has Compromised 40 Million Credit Cards Sears' New Ad: No One Shops Here, So We Have Plenty of Parking!
