We measure days, hours, and minutes the same way throughout the year, but from the end of November through January time seems to move faster. For retailers, this “holiday rush” is at the top of their minds and begins in the summer when businesses examine their supply and assess how it stacks up on forecasted demand.
For your customers, the holiday season is nine weeks of shopping frenzy and I-hope-it-gets-there-on-time concerns. Keeping it together and making customers happy requires cool heads, warm hearts, and (most importantly!) meeting 2024 holiday shipping deadlines.
The demand side of holiday shipping no one talks about
Months have gone into the purchasing, planning, and promotion of your products. And for retailers, it’s the season that can make or break their survival. According to research conducted by Capital One Shopping, U.S. online holiday shoppers will drive 30.1% of 2024 holiday sales. That’s a lot of merchandise to transport in a small window of time.
In addition, your customers dedicate time to shopping when it’s convenient, cost-effective (discounts or specials), or when they can’t procrastinate any longer. Between Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and everything on either side of the holidays, crunch time for retailers is ongoing and trickles down to fulfillment.
Consumers generally focus on two things:
- Purchasing the right product.
- Getting it to their recipient by a specific date.
This is where the demand side of shipping dates comes into play.
What your customers don’t think about, and should, is the day their order needs to be shipped by to make the delivery date on time. Contrary to what they might believe, shipping and fulfillment workers aren’t waiting around to receive a single order; instead, they are bombarded with ecommerce fulfillment requests that escalate as Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanza get closer.
While customers may not think a late order is their problem (blaming the retailer or third-party logistics provider), holiday shipping success stories happen when brands clearly communicate 2024 holiday shipping deadlines well in advance.
Think backward to move forward
When preparing your business for the onslaught of holiday orders (hooray!) make sure to put yourself in your customers’ shoes. By considering where they’re coming from, what they’re focused on, and what they expect, retailers gain a solid understanding of how to adjust ecommerce ordering processes and fulfillment strategies for the holiday season.
On the flip side, customers don’t consider the shipping date constraints put on retailers that more often than not are out of their control, giving little room for margin of error. But there are ways retailers can be proactive with their customers to minimize delays, retain customers, and increase customer loyalty.
Encourage them to shop early. Forbes magazine published findings in a 2024 survey showing 37% of consumers had started year-end holiday shopping in October. Why not suggest your clients do what they already do and love? Shop. Early.
How? Add a subtle pop-up on your website banner, send a targeted email to existing customers, or set up a dedicated landing page offering incentives for shopping ahead of peak season. For brick-and-mortar stores, use tasteful display boards at the payment counter to recommend early holiday purchases, or add a phrase to purchase receipts as a reminder to shop early.
Communicate deadlines but give yourself a break. It’s also important to be consistent with your holiday shipping messaging. In addition to posting specific shipping date deadlines, consider adding an extra cushion of time in case last-minute orders are more than anticipated. The buffer will leave room to satisfy customer requests, meet shipping deadlines, and help reduce unfulfilled or delayed orders.
Avoid the what-ifs
Even when you’ve dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s in your holiday shipping deadline communications, things can happen and have you questioning whether the extra effort was all for not. You’re not alone.
Because ecommerce is a global network of omnichannel retailers, there are more opportunities for disruptions, like weather-related events, cybersecurity threats, and geopolitical tensions that can impact the seamless flow of goods.
These considerations won’t stop you from serving your customers, but they could change the storage, distribution, and delivery plan. That’s why partnering with a reliable and reputable 3PL company like Shipping Tree gives you and your customers many advantages during the holiday season and all year round.
An ecommerce brand’s guide to 2024 holiday shipping deadlines
Use the following information for up-to-date information on UPS, USPS, FedEx, and DHL shipping service providers.
USPS – (applies to packages sent to addresses in the lower 48 states)
To ensure packages are received before December 25, 2024, items must be sent by:
- USPS Ground Advantage service: Dec. 18
- First-Class Mail service: Dec. 18
- Priority Mail service: Dec. 19
- Priority Mail Express service: Dec. 21
USPS – (applies to packages sent to addresses in Alaska and Hawaii)
To ensure packages are received before December 25, 2024, items must be sent by:
- USPS Ground Advantage service: Dec. 16
- First-Class Mail service: Dec. 18
- Priority Mail service: Dec. 19
- Priority Mail Express service: Dec. 20
PLEASE NOTE: For international shipping deadlines, refer to USPS here.
UPS –
To ensure packages are received by December 24, 2024, items must be sent by:
- UPS® Ground: check rates and ship date here
- UPS 3 Day Select®: Dec. 19
- UPS 2nd Day Air®: Dec. 20
- UPS Next Day Air®: Dec. 23
PLEASE NOTE: For international shipping deadlines, refer to UPS here.
FedEx –
To ensure packages are received by December 24, 2024, items must be sent by:
- FedEx SameDay: Dec. 24
- FedEx First Overnight®, FedEx Priority Overnight®, FedEx Standard Overnight®, Extra Hours: Dec 23
- FedEx 2Day®* & FedEx 2Day® AM: Dec. 20
- FedEx Express Saver®: Dec. 19
- FedEx Ground: 5-day shipping, Dec. 17; 4-day shipping, Dec. 18; 3-day shipping, Dec.19; 2-day shipping, Dec. 20; 1-day shipping, Dec. 23
- FedEx Home Delivery®: 5-day shipping, Dec. 17; 4-day shipping, Dec. 18; 2- or 3-day shipping, Dec. 20; 1-day shipping, Dec. 23
- FedEx Ground® Economy: Dec. 13
- FedEx 3Day® Freight: Dec. 19
- FedEx 2Day® Freight: Dec. 20
- FedEx 1Day® Freight: Dec. 23
- FedEx Freight® Priority: 5-day shipping, Dec. 16; 4-day shipping, Dec. 17; 3-day shipping, Dec.18; 2-day shipping, Dec. 19; 1-day shipping, Dec. 20
- FedEx Freight® Economy: Dec. 11
PLEASE NOTE: For international shipping deadlines, refer to FedEx here.
DHL – (terms and conditions apply)
To ensure packages are received by December 23, 2024, items must be sent by:
- DHL Express Worldwide: Dec. 21 (end of day)
- Check for country-specific regulations
- DHL Domestic Express (select regions only): Dec. 22 (early morning)
- No deliveries on December 25
PLEASE NOTE: For international shipping deadlines and other details, refer to DHL Express here.
Shipping tips designed for last-minute customers
No matter how much you prepare, there are bound to be those holiday shopping stragglers who can’t decide to purchase until a hard shipping date forces their hand. You can handle that, no problem.
Cover your bases by securing shipping partnerships with multiple carriers to avert delays, when possible, and realize some cost savings too. If you’re working with a 3PL, you can leverage their parcel carrier relationships to diversify your mix.
Additionally, leverage your fulfillment partner’s fulfillment technology to prioritize certain shipping parameters, like a speedier delivery. ShippingTree’s shipping rate shopping software enables customers to set pre-defined rules that automate the selection of carriers, including prioritizing speed for time-sensitive holiday deliveries.
When it comes to 2024 ecommerce holiday shipping, the early bird catches the worm! And with the end of the year approaching quickly, it’s not a moment too soon to get started.
