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It’s the holiday season, and many are already scrambling to find ways to get their orders in time for Christmas. However, this year has been a bit of an eCommerce crisis with the shipping deadlines coming up earlier than ever before. To help our readers prepare, we’re going to give you some tips on how to stay ahead of these deadlines so that your customers have enough time to receive their purchases in time for Christmas morning.
What’s Going On With Shipping?
With ships carrying cargo stuck in ports across the globe, the well-oiled supply chain has suddenly come to a standstill. But why? And what can we do about it?
Well, the first thing to know is that there are two competing factors that have come into play here. On one hand, supply chains rely on ships coming across the ocean carrying “just in time” supplies of goods throughout retail stores around America. But these same ports pose a major blockade for shippers trying to get these items quickly and efficiently to their final destinations before Christmas.
The second thing we need you to know is that this isn’t the first time shipping deadlines have been earlier than usual, but it’s certainly one of the worst years for it. The reason dates are moving up so much? Well, retailers like Amazon (among others) seem to have a hand in this. Not only do they offer free two-day shipping on select items, but many of them are also trying to ship products before the holiday season even starts so that their customers can get what they want when they need it most–before Christmas morning.
In fact, Amazon is actually moving up its Black Friday dates by almost a week this year. The official date will be November 17th, but the sale itself is expected to start on November 15th—giving shoppers almost an entire week of early access before traditional Black Friday sales would have usually begun.
With so many companies offering free shipping and earlier dates for their sales, it’s no wonder that consumers are clamoring to get what they want as soon as possible. After all, who wouldn’t want to receive their gifts before everyone else?
How Can You Prepare for Shipping Deadlines?
There are a few things that you can do to prepare for these holiday shipping deadlines as an eCommerce business owner:
- Analyze your customer’s buying habits – How many orders have you been getting per day? On average, how long does it take for them to go out? Understanding your company’s shipping speed will help you figure out how many orders to expect during this peak time. And knowing if most of your customers are located in the US, Europe, or somewhere else entirely can also be valuable information when deciding who gets priority shipment.
- Prepare inventory limits– With retail sales expected to reach $4.4 trillion dollars in 2021, it’s no surprise that this year will see record sales. This also means you should expect to receive a lot more orders than usual. How much inventory can your warehouses handle? Do you have enough space and manpower to deal with the demand?
- Give customers options – If things get really tight then consider offering discounts to customers who are willing to wait an extra day or two for their order. And if you’re worried about losing business then be sure to let your clients know that you’re doing everything in your power to meet these shipping deadlines before the final bell rings.
- Get help – As an eCommerce business owner, your main priority is keeping customers happy. And if that means you need to hire additional support staff then do it! You’ll be able to keep up with all of the new orders without having to worry about these holiday shipping deadlines getting in the way.
Is Black Friday Cancelled?
Black Friday has been gaining in popularity for years.
According to NRF data, Black Friday topped Cyber Monday as the busiest day for online shopping for the first time ever in 2019 — Black Friday saw 93.2 million shoppers compared with 83.3 million on Cyber Monday.
And that trend continued into Black Friday 2020, which was the second-largest online spending day in U.S. history, right behind Cyber Monday 2020, according to Adobe Analytics.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday also had to compete against Prime Day in 2020. Due to pandemic-related delays, Prime Day 2020 happened in October, the latest the sale has ever taken place.
Now with a global shipping crisis, Black Friday sales are still happening but they’re happening earlier to avoid possible shipping delays. Companies are also focusing more on in-store purchases or online purchases they have in-stock in-store nearby. A move toward buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) has also been happening since the pandemic started which may help stores meet customers’ needs.
Here are some companies that started their Black Friday sales earlier than ever before:
- Amazon
- Bed Bath & Beyond
- BJ’s
- Dell
- Home Depot
- JCPenney
- Kohl’s
- Lowe’s
- Macy’s
- Old Navy
- Samsung
- Walmart
If you’re worried about missing out on holiday sales then you might have to move your Black Friday sale up as well. Just be sure that you’re still able to meet the shipping deadlines for this earlier date so that customers won’t feel cheated out of a great deal. The day after Thanksgiving might be too late for some people to get their holiday presents in time so some companies are moving their Black Friday plans up.
How Can You Deal With Customer Complaints?
There are going to be quite a few unhappy holiday shoppers around Christmas if their shipments don’t arrive in time. An Oracle survey found that 45% of Americans never thought about the supply chain, or about how products were delivered, before the pandemic. At least people are somewhat more aware at the moment but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be pleased when their gifts don’t arrive by the 25th.
If this happens then all you can do is apologize and offer a solution. You might have some unhappy customers but it’s better to set up realistic expectations so they won’t be even more unhappy later on. It will also show that you care about your clients’ needs rather than just trying to make a profit.
- Make it clear in advertising that holiday shopping needs to happen earlier this year. People will appreciate the reminder and it also sets expectations.
- If customers are worried that their shipments won’t arrive in time then offer them a discount or coupon code to help ease the pain. And be sure to keep your clients updated on any changes regarding shipping times, delays, and other issues.
- If you’re getting complaints then consider responding to them with a simple explanation. Honesty is always the best policy and people are more likely to shop from an authentic shop owner.
- If you can’t give them a refund then offer to send out another package. But make sure that these replacements are sent via priority or express shipping so your customers can get their items in time for Christmas morning.
What about the other holidays? Unfortunately, there’s not much businesses can do if they’re worried about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There’s no way to know for sure how many packages you’ll be receiving between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, so it doesn’t make much sense to hire extra staff or buy more supplies than your warehouses can handle.
Experts are expecting things to be back to normal by January. Holidays such as Valentine’s Day and Easter will be easier for eCommerce businesses to deal with. So if you’re worried about not being able to meet holiday deadlines then focus on these other dates in the months ahead.
How To Prepare Your eCommerce Site For The Holidays
In addition to holiday shipping deadlines, it’s important to make sure your site is in top shape to make sure there are no snags during the peak shopping season.
- Make sure your site is mobile responsive and compatible with all devices.
- Double-check that you’re meeting the latest security standards so hackers can’t get access to customer information or hijack their accounts.
- Update your SSL certificate if it’s not up to date — this process should take less than 24 hours.
- Make sure your site’s pages load properly and quickly. Visitors won’t spend much time on a page that takes 30 seconds to load, so make sure everything is in working order before the holiday rush starts.
- Be ready if you plan to use live chat support this year — it can be an important tool to help you meet deadlines and take care of customers.
- And finally, be sure that your mobile checkout pages are working well. Many shoppers abandon carts if they can’t check out quickly or easily on their phones. And this could lead to lost sales during the critical holiday shopping season.
EYStudios Can Help You Prepare For These Deadlines
As a full-service web design and marketing eCommerce agency company with an eCommerce focus, EYStudios has the tools and connections to help you meet these holiday shipping deadlines and prepare your clients for the weird holiday season ahead.
Learn more about our services by visiting us online at eystudios.com or giving us a call today!