Most consumers want to ensure they get all of their holiday season shopping done by a certain date. Because, for a vast majority of consumers that date is Christmas, shipping carriers like UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL and others have started posting holiday shipping deadline dates.
These are the suggested dates that packages need to be in the carrier’s possession in order to reach its final destination by or before Christmas.
“We interviewed a few other 3PLs before switching, and we could have gone with any of the big major 3PLs. We know that on Thanksgiving night, when something goes wrong, I don’t think the President of Ingram Micro is going to answer the phone and show up, and start packing products. But we know that DCL will.”
Why are Shipping Cut-Off Dates Important?
During peak season it’s important to know the specific days that items need to be shipped in order to arrive to their destination by a certain time. Outside of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s estimated that the biggest shopping days of the year are during the week leading up to Christmas. That means consumers are waiting until the last minute to buy even though they definitely want their packages to arrive by or before Christmas Day.
A seller’s biggest defense against a negative customer shipping experience is to communicate very clear shipping deadlines. By letting your customers know before they buy that items won’t be on their doorstep until after Christmas (even if that’s an estimation) then they will know what to expect.
If you’re still building your holiday shipping plan, be sure to create a thorough Holiday Planning Checklist.
What are 2024 Shipping Cut-Off Dates?
Here is a cheat sheet of estimated dates that packages will need to ship by in order to reach their destination by December 25, 2024.
These shipping cutoff dates are based on current carrier feedback and historical performance. Speeds will vary based on where you ship out of and delivery destination. Always check with your carrier to confirm before setting customer expectations. Please note these are estimates based on carrier information and our own data, none of these are guarantees. Once a package is in the hands of your carrier transit times may change depending on many factors out of your control.
These are recommended/estimated last days to ship. Please refer to the carrier websites for exact detail. FedEx Last Day To Ship and UPS Last Day to Ship
The chart below can be sorted, grouped or filtered by any of the field types for an individual view of this information. View the chart in a new tab here.
If you need a 3PL to help you make the most of the holiday season, reach out to chat with our team. Last year we helped many high-growth brands have the smoothest fulfillment possible.
Tags: Shipping carrier updates