E-commerce has become a lifeline for countless retailers that have been forced to close their physical stores amidst falling foot traffic and growing concerns about staff safety during COVID-19.

But even as they pivot online, many businesses are now discovering new challenges in the fulfilment of those orders.

Cue Clothing’s CIO Shane Lenton estimates the company, which owns Cue and Veronika Maine, has seen a 20 per cent delay in shipping times due to the coronavirus.

The company typically fulfils around 57 per cent of online orders from store inventory, with the remaining 43 per cent sent from its distribution centre.

Before closing physical stores and standing down most of its staff on March 28, Cue consolidated inventory in local hubs in each state, so it could continue to ship from store. It also sent inventory back to the warehouse.

But it has still been impacted by the reduction in domestic flights and closure of internal borders, which are blowing out the delivery windows of its courier partners.

Cue uses the Shippit platform, which means its parcels are delivered by a broad range of courier companies, including Australia Post’s StarTrack, CouriersPlease and Drive Yello, among others.

A spokesperson for Australia Post confirmed its delivery network is experiencing severe delays, even as it has seen a big increase in parcel volumes.

“We’re seeing a big increase in our parcel volumes, similar to what we experience during Christmas time and during online sales such as Black Friday and Boxing Day,” the spokesperson told Inside Retail.

But due to significant reductions in air freight capacity, they said, “there will be severe delays on the letters and parcels network that Australia Post operates around the country, particularly to regional and rural communities”.

At the same time, social distancing requirements mean it can’t simply put on more people in its facilities as it would do during other peak periods. It said it is working as hard as it can to get parcels to customers as quickly as possible.

Founder and director of Adore Beauty Kate Morris said delays in Australia Post’s network seem to be getting worse.

“Especially into WA, Tas and QLD, presumably due to the border closures,” she told Inside Retail in an email. “Latest advice is an extra 5-7 days for WA/QLD.”

Morris acknowledged it has been tough for Adore Beauty’s own warehouse staff to keep up with demand while adhering to new safety protocols, such as staggered shifts and fewer people on the floor. And the lack unit load devices, or parcel cages, which Australia Post typically provides, means it takes longer to load parcels onto pallets.

“We are hiring and scaling up as fast as we can while making sure we continue to keep our team safe, and meet all the requirements around physical distancing and hygiene,” she said.