The holiday season is a crucial time for many ecommerce businesses, as it often accounts for a significant portion of annual sales. As one of the busiest shopping periods of the year, it requires thorough preparation. While planning ideally begins in the summer months, there are still steps you can take to ensure a productive and profitable quarter.
Below are some actionable last-minute strategies to help ecommerce brands optimize holiday sales while delivering an excellent customer experience.
Clearly Communicate Shipping Deadlines
Effective customer communication is essential, especially during the holiday rush. Positive customer experiences often hinge on clear, proactive messaging.
Since holiday shopping is largely driven by the winter holidays, timely delivery is a key concern for many customers. For most, the critical date is Christmas, and major shipping carriers like UPS, USPS, FedEx, and DHL have published their holiday shipping deadlines.
Ensure your customers know exactly when they need to place orders to receive their packages on time.
These deadlines reflect the recommended dates by which packages must be handed over to carriers to ensure delivery by Christmas—2024 Holiday Shipping Deadlines.
Ecommerce Holiday Shipping Guide
A free guide with tips to increase average order value, plan perfect holiday forecasts, limit shipping delays, and navigate demand surcharges.
Familiarize Yourself with Demand Surcharges
To avoid unexpected shipping expenses, it’s important to understand the various fees you may encounter. These include base transportation costs, service charges, fuel surcharges, delivery area fees, and peak season surcharges.
Surcharges can vary widely depending on the shipping services you use. For instance, some carriers may add peak season fees for pickups or deliveries in specific zip codes. If your invoice already includes delivery area surcharges, expect those costs to increase during the holidays.
For a detailed overview of this year’s peak and demand surcharges, refer to our comprehensive breakdown of major carriers and their most popular services—2024 Peak Season and Demand Surcharges.
Leverage Product Bundles to Boost AOV
If you’ve already introduced product bundles for peak season, you’re likely aware of how effective they can be for increasing your average order value (AOV).
Although it may be too late to create new bundles, you can focus on promoting the ones that are performing well. If your fulfillment partner supports virtual bundles, consider utilizing this feature to meet demand.
Track your bundle performance closely and spotlight those that are driving the most sales. Collaborate with your marketing team to create campaigns that highlight these offers. Additional strategies, like offering free accessories with a minimum purchase or branded merchandise, can further incentivize customers to spend more.
Partner with Last-Mile Providers to Reduce Delays
Shipping delays are inevitable during the holidays due to factors like inclement weather, labor shortages, and order surges. The key to mitigating these challenges is a well-coordinated shipping and fulfillment strategy.
Keep your third-party logistics (3PL) providers and carriers informed with frequent updates to your shipping forecasts. Share details about upcoming holiday promotions, including free shipping offers, discounts, BOGOs, or new product launches.
The more aligned your partners are with your plans, the better equipped they’ll be to fulfill and ship orders on time.
Partner with Last-Mile Providers to Reduce Delays
Shipping delays are inevitable during the holidays due to factors like inclement weather, labor shortages, and order surges. The key to mitigating these challenges is a well-coordinated shipping and fulfillment strategy.
Keep your third-party logistics (3PL) providers and carriers informed with frequent updates to your shipping forecasts. Share details about upcoming holiday promotions, including free shipping offers, discounts, BOGOs, or new product launches.
The more aligned your partners are with your plans, the better equipped they’ll be to fulfill and ship orders on time.
Optimize Your Post-Holiday Returns Process
Returns are often overlooked during the holiday season, but a seamless returns process can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, it can improve inventory turnover and boost profitability.
While it’s ideal to prepare your returns process ahead of the holidays, there are still steps you can take now to optimize it in real time.
Key elements of an effective returns process include:
- Clear policies: Ensure your returns policy is well-defined and finalized before holiday sales peak.
- Visibility: Make your returns policy easy to find on your website so customers know what to expect.
- Ease of use: Monitor how easily customers can label and ship returns back to you.
- Data tracking: Work with your fulfillment partner to analyze returns data, such as restocking times, to quickly resell returned items.
Enhance Customer Service
The increased volume of orders and website traffic during peak season means more customer inquiries, returns, and potential issues. Ensuring your customer service channels are well-staffed and functioning smoothly is crucial to handling this demand effectively.
This is also a good time to review the messaging on your website. Update your FAQ section, clarify delivery expectations, and provide answers to common customer questions. A well-prepared customer service team can help resolve issues quickly, improving the overall shopping experience.
By focusing on these last-minute strategies, you can make the most of the holiday season while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
If you’re looking for a 3PL with fulfillment centers in cities across the US, we own and operate facilities in The Bay Area, Los Angeles,Kentucky, and theEast Coast.
Be sure to review the list of services we offer, including ecommerce fulfillment, retail fulfillment, Amazon fulfillment services, reverse logistics, transportation management, and kitting & assembly.
This post was written by Maureen Walsh, Marketing Manager at DCL Logistics. A writer and blogging specialist for over 15 years, she helps create quality resources for ecommerce brands looking to optimize their business.
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