Mark Your Calendars With The Carriers’ 2019 Holiday Shipping Deadlines

Sure, the leaves just started to change colors and most pumpkin patches recently opened their figurative doors, but if you’re an e-commerce business, you’re likely already hard at work preparing for the upcoming holiday season. It’s no wonder that so much effort is devoted to the last few months of the year: The holiday season can represent as much as 30 percent of a business’ annual sales.

As you’re beefing up your inventory and stocking your shipping supplies, you’ll want to keep in mind your carriers’ 2019 holiday shipping deadlines. These are the last dates to insert your package into the mail stream in order for them to arrive by December 24 (also known as holiday ship-by dates).

Make sure to share these dates on your company’s website and with customers so that you can manage expectations appropriately. You don’t want to risk sending packages after the deadline only to end up disappointing customers expecting their items by Christmas.

Will a Later Thanksgiving Impact the 2019 Holiday Selling Season?

One potential wrench thrown your way this holiday season is the fact that Thanksgiving lands on the last weekend of November, making the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas much shorter than usual. The good news is that fewer consumers are waiting until the Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend to begin their holiday shopping. In fact, a whopping 88 percent of shoppers say they will start their shopping on or before Cyber Monday. This is sure to make it easier for e-commerce businesses to comply with this year’s holiday shipping deadlines.