December was the biggest-ever month for Australia post, which delivered more than 40 million parcels over the holiday season.  It's an 11.7 percent increase over the previous December.

Strong Christmas Eve and Boxing Day sales helped to drive the parcel volumes.  Aus Post added 3,000 extra staff across the network to handle the increased volumes.

"We made more than 40 million parcel deliveries in December, and our hardworking posties delivered more than 40 percent of these, as well as more than 210 million letters," said Australia Post Chief Operating Officer Bob Black.  "Our busiest day was Monday 17 December, when we delivered a record three million parcels across the country - by far the biggest day in our history.

“What we didn’t expect was to have a lot of shoppers race to the finish line to post their festive parcels, with our people delivering a whopping 2.7 million items on Christmas Eve - our next busiest day of the month and equal second busiest day in history."

Aus Post found that people are turning to online shopping more and more.

"Our research found that people were buying up to 19.2 per cent more items online. By 2020, we expect one in 10 items will be bought online, said Mr. Black.  "Online shopping is building momentum as a channel of choice, where customers can make the most of online deals and choose customisable delivery options with Australia Post.  This means online shoppers can buy the brands they love no matter where they live."” Bob Black said.