New data from Gophr, one of London’s top five same-day courier networks, reveals that its courier job volumes in the capital are up 38% year-on-year, with growth in the pre-8am window surging fastest of all.
Early-morning deliveries now account for more than twice as many jobs as evening runs, marking a 33% year-on-year rise in London’s early-hour activity.
It suggests the capital’s “Early Riser workers”, ranging from tradespeople to medical couriers, are fast becoming the driving force behind London’s Hidden Economy.
Gophr analysis can also reveal that coffee chains are seeing their longest queues before 8am in “courier hotspots”, with Greggs peaking just after 07:30 and Pret, Costa and Starbucks busiest from 08:00–09:00.
A city’s hidden economy is its unseen pulse, the behind-the-scenes movements and workers that keep it running outside of the nine-to-five; from couriers and taxi drivers to bar staff and coffee shop owners. London’s reputation as a ‘24-hour city’ might have been built on its night-time economy, but this only tells half the story, with Gophr’s data indicating that the early hours are where the hidden economy is really coming alive – putting the wheels in motion for the day before most commuters have left home.
This surge in early morning deliveries is fuelled by time-critical work: pharmaceutical deliveries are up 101% year-on-year, ensuring prescriptions reach patients before breakfast, while construction-related deliveries have grown 59%, ensuring tools and materials reach the capital’s busy building sites before activity begins for the day.
Interestingly, in Soho and the West End (W1), one of the capital’s traditional evening anchors, Gophr’s courier volumes are down 14% year-on-year.
By contrast, areas such as Marylebone, Whitechapel and Clapham are coming alive earlier, with courier volumes sharply up: NW1 (Camden/Marylebone, +45%), E1 (Shoreditch/Whitechapel, +33%) and SW11 (Clapham/Battersea, +31%).
The shift shows how the very makeup of London is being reshaped, and that the city’s economic activity is moving away from traditional central hubs known for their evening activity, to more residential areas in the early morning.
Graham Smith, Strategic Account Director at Gophr, said: “London’s hidden economy has always been there, running quietly beyond the nine-to-five. What our data shows is that it’s increasingly shifting in favour of mornings, despite London being known as the late-night city.
“It’s a side of London most people don’t notice but the signs are everywhere – in the early queues outside coffee shops, in parking bays before dawn, and the supplies that reach construction sites while the streets are still half empty.
“It’s a rebalancing of London’s rhythm, and couriers are at the heart of that shift.”
