As we get deeper into the holiday season, we’ll continue to look back in order to predict and prepare for what’s to come.
2019 marked a new record in sales for both brick and mortar and online retail. Total retail spending both online and offline increased by 3.7% in 2019 compared to the year before that, bringing in slightly over one trillion dollars in revenue. Ecommerce sales in particular grew by 13.2%, reaching $137.55 billion.
Despite this record-breaking surge last year, researchers, companies and businesses are expecting a slight slowdown in holiday sales this year. Brick and mortar stores are still open and still selling — their roles are just shifting slightly to accommodate online shoppers looking for BOPIS (buy online, pick up in-store).
As you prepare your stores this year, there’s one aspect that will be helpful to keep in mind — shipping dates by carrier.
In the last three months of the year, you'll most likely be at maximum stress levels. There's a lot of work to do as we head into the final stretch toward the end of the year. You'll be fulfilling a high demand of orders and executing sales and marketing campaigns.
Holiday sales begin at Halloween, pick up during Cyber Weekend, and finish with the heavy consumer Christmas season. You have a lot to prepare, so we want to make sure there’s one thing you don’t have to worry about too much — holiday shipping deadlines and packaging ordering.
When to order packaging
You’ll be shipping out more packages than usual over the course of Halloween through Christmas. You’ve prepared your inventory, but what about your shipping materials?
It’s best to order ahead of time and make sure you stock up on supplies before the holiday delays hit.
Order-by dates for Brandable Box
To ensure delivery by November 13 — two weeks before Cyber Weekend — we’re encouraging orders to be placed as soon as early October to account for an increase in demand for packaging and shipping supplies.
- Order your custom boxes by October 30
- Order plain boxes and accessories by November 1
- Order our holiday boxes by November 1
Make sure your store has enough shipping supplies to last through the Christmas season!
Shipping deadlines by carrier
Even though we’ve used Cyber Weekend as the starting point for holiday sales and demand, many experts this year are expecting the sales and holiday spending to begin as early as Halloween.
But to keep things simple, we’ll list the shipping cut-off dates for delivery before the largest holiday of the year — Christmas. If you want your customers to receive your product before December 24, make sure to list these dates on your site so your customers can order ahead.
- FedEx Ground — December 15
- UPS Ground — December 15
- USPS Ground — December 15
As holiday sales start coming through, be sure your online store and business is prepared to deliver for your customer by Christmas. Visit our Holiday Resource Center for a downloadable infographic of these holiday dates and other helpful tips.