Holiday Shipping Deadlines 2020.

Posted December 3, 2020

At Elite OPS, we have been helping our clients in order fulfillment and shipping for over 25 years. In fact, we just celebrated our 25th Anniversary. With such a long time in the industry, our wealth of experience helps us do the best for our clients.

We compiled these tips after facing and overcoming many problems head on for our clients.

1. Know Delivery Deadlines.

Make sure you know the shipping and delivery deadlines for Holidays 2014 so that your customers can order and receive their packages on time. Stress the importance of not waiting until the last minute for their Online Holiday Shopping.

Also, any delivery deadlines by shipping companies are normally cancelled when there is bad weather as it’s beyond their control. You cannot expect them to deliver if their planes and trucks can’t run.

Cut Off Dates to get your shipments delivered by Christmas.

FedEx Delivery Cut Off Dates for Holidays 2020:

• December 15th: FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery
• December 21st: FedEx Express Saver and 3-Day Freight
• December 22nd: FedEx 2 Day
• December 21st: FedEx 2 Day Freight
• December 23rd: FedEx First Overnight, Priority Overnight and Standard Overnight, 1 Day Freight

Click here to see the entire FedEx deadline schedule.

USPS Delivery Cut Off Dates for Holidays 2020:

• December 15th: USPS Retail Ground
• December 18th: USPS First Class Mail
• December 19th: USPS Priority
• December 23rd: USPS Priority Mail Express

Click here to see the entire USPS deadline Schedule.

2. Something Will Go Wrong – Plan For It!

We know that things will go wrong so we have contingencies planned well ahead. Bad weather can cause delivery delays and sometimes packages go missing! Always keep extra stock of high demand products and be able to ship them out quickly if replacements are needed. Have an easy way for your customers to contact you about the product they purchased from your online store. Plan for Phone, Chat, Email, and Social Media customer service during the holiday rush season. Make it a point to get back to them as soon as possible to take care of their issues.

Among other problems are sizes that don’t fit right, colors that don’t match and items that don’t satisfy customers 100%. So, make sure that your product descriptions and measurements are accurate. Make sure your photos depict your product as accurately as possible.

3. Get Your Returns and Exchange Department Ready!

Your team needs to have a clear and easy Returns and Exchange policy so that they can efficiently follow through with customers without delays and ensuring customers dont get upset. Your customers must be able easily return and exchange products. A clearly defined returns and exchange policy, effectively communicated to your customers will help maintain customer relations and may also increase sales.

To decrease the turn-around time for returns and exchanges, add Return Instructions and Labels into your shipping boxes or make them available in your online store. That makes it handy and your customers can easily and quickly get their items exchanged.

4. Get Connected with your Customers early.

In order to make sure that your customers have your online store in mind and shop early, send out an early Happy Holidays emails to all your customers. It reminds them of your products that they bought last season as well as gives them a tried and true option. They bought your product and liked the shopping process that you offered once before and reminding your customers of that can get you repeat sales.

Another great way is to engage with them on Social Media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. You can gain many Followers or Likes which increase chances of getting more customers for your eCommerce store.

Bottom Line: Get Ready Early and Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute.

Click here to Read about the Steps We Are Taking to ensure Business Continuity for Our Customers and Our Team.

Elite OPS has been a leader in Shipping and Logistics for over 25 years. Contact Us to find out how we can help you Save Time and Money on Procurement as a Service, eCommerce Order Fulfillment, and Kitting and Assembly.