Big name retailers are bringing forward final Christmas ordering dates and private couriers say they're doing all they can to deliver gifts as the earlier deadline for sending post with Royal Mail nears.

Waterstones and The Entertainer are among those to have shifted festive shopping deadlines for purchases customers want before Christmas while M&S is warning that some orders 'may take a little longer to arrive'.

Royal Mail has been forced to bring forward Christmas posting dates after thousands of workers announced they would be striking on a number of dates in December including Christmas Eve.

With no agreement between bosses and the CWU union on the horizon, the postal service says the deadline for sending Christmas parcels and packages by First Class, which used to guarantee next-day delivery, is Friday, December 16 - an entire week before Christmas.

With reports that backlogs are building at Royal Mail depots and other couriers filling the void are now experiencing an increase in deliveries as Christmas gets closer, high street retailers offering delivery services are also altering final shopping dates in order to make sure people's gifts arrive.

Waterstones has brought forward the deadlines for online shoppers with the book shop now cutting-off festive orders two days earlier than it had initially planned.

Those wishing to order presents must do so by December 19 for First Class deliveries with a message adding: "Royal Mail have confirmed strike action throughout December. We apologise for the disruption this is likely to cause as we expect some delay to our quoted delivery times."

In a message on its website, Marks & Spencer says most orders are being delivered within the usual time frames but has warned some online orders “may take a little longer to arrive". It has pushed back the time frame for click and collect orders, which shoppers can get from their nearest store without a minimum spend, as it also concentrates on dispatching parcels.

While in an interview with The Guardian executive chairman of The Entertainer Gary Grant confirmed the company had been forced to extend its delivery promise from three to five days to five to seven to allow for possible delays.

Last week electrical retailer Curry's said it would stop using Royal Mail for some smaller parcels in order to guarantee Christmas deliveries while private delivery firms say they are now experiencing a significant influx of orders as companies seek alternatives.

Both DPD and Evri have put out statements in recent days apologising for extended delivery times as they deal with huge volume of parcels.
A statement from Evri, formerly Hermes, posted on its website reads: "We’re sorry that some of you are experiencing short, localised delays in receiving your parcels. Like other parcel delivery companies, we are seeing some service delays caused by high Christmas volumes, additional parcels in our network due to Royal Mail strikes, staff shortages, and severe weather conditions.

"Please bear with us. We’re currently delivering more than three million parcels a day and our teams across the country are working hard to make sure parcels are delivered in time for Christmas."