10 Holiday Shipping Tips for Store Owners To Prepare for 2023

Record-breaking sales are the aspiration for any large shopping period. But the reality is, even after you’ve made those sales, you still require to set up shipping and fulfillment processes for every order.

Luckily, this is a great shipping issue to have, and we’re here to assist. This navigator has all the shipping tips you require to make a seamless, customer-first shipping encounter during a rush, including specific ways Shopify Shipping, Local Delivery, and Local Pickup can assist you ship more orders to more places, quickly and efficiently.

10 useful holiday shipping tips

1. chart out your shipping and delivery procedure
2. stake up on shipping and packaging supplies
3. recognize and meet 2023 holiday shipping deadlines
4. Set your busy-period shipping and delivery schedule
5. Label products clearly and accurately
6. Make shipping dates, prices, and delivery options obvious to customers
7. Prepare for returns
8. Let customers track their order delivery position
9. Prepare to manage customer’s expectations
10. The most ordinary factor of holiday shipping delays

1. chart out your shipping and delivery procedure

It’s significant that you’re aware of every step in your shipping and delivery procedure—and having a rough concept in your head doesn’t count. Ideally, the processes are documented somewhere in your back office that’s straightforward for all throng members to access. 

Even if you do have your shipping schedule meticulously documented, it’s a excellent concept to make sure it’s still relevant for peak period as conditions can quickly transformation.

To figure out what your procedure is, pay close attention to the next few orders you ship, or check in with your throng if they handle fulfillment. Make a list of each step, and write down how long it takes (approximate times are fine).

For example, it might look like:

• Review all open orders in one place from the Orders tab in Shopify. (1 minute)
• Organize orders by delivery area and way, such as local delivery or in-store pickup. (2 minutes)
• Pick the inventory required for each order based on the delivery way. (3 minutes)
• Print packing slips in bulk or use the Shopify mobile app to view the products for each order. (2 minutes)
• Get out appropriately sized packaging and any extras, such as branded materials, coupons, or free testers. (1 minute)
• Bulk print shipping labels in Shopify admin for the set orders you’re about to fulfill. (1 minute)
• Set up an “assembly line” for your packing slips, inventory, packaging, extras, and shipping labels. (2 minutes)
• Pack each order with the packing slip, inventory, and extras. Then, seal and label each package. (5 minutes)
• Attach a shipping label to each package. (2 minutes)

While you’re outlining the stages of your procedure, look for any bottlenecks and note how long each step takes to complete. Is there anything you can do to streamline those steps or make them more efficient?

Shaving a minute off each shipment might not seem like much, but if you’re handling 10 shipments and deliveries a day, that’s already 10 minutes you (or your throng) could spend on something else.

If you’re shipping several orders per day, it might be period to consider outsourcing your fulfillment. By sending your inventory to Shopify Fulfillment Network, your orders will be picked, packed, and shipped to your customers—giving you period back to focus on scaling your business. discover more about Shopify Fulfillment Network.

Save period by buying and printing shipping labels in bulk

To save period on every order you fulfill, you can buy and print multiple shipping labels at the same period in Shopify. You’ll also access lower, pre-negotiated shipping rates for USPS, DHL, UPS in the United States, Canada Post in Canada, or Sendle in Australia when you ship with Shopify.

To get started, all you require to do is leave to your Orders page and select the orders you desire to fulfill.

When you select “make shipping labels,” you’ll view the packed list of shipping prices and details for all the orders you’ve selected, and you can buy shipping labels and print them from that page. If any information is missing, you’ll be able to fill it in correct there.

Read more about printing in bulk in Shopify

Set up Local Delivery or Local Pickup for local customers

Options like local delivery and local pickup allow you to connect with your local economy, putting more control in your hands and less in the hands of a third-event carrier.

It’s quick and straightforward to set up Shopify Local Delivery. You can then use the Shopify Local Delivery app to construct and distribute optimized delivery routes to simplify delivery. When it’s period to get out there and deliver, delivery staff and drivers can also download the app on iOS or Android to access directions, send notifications, and delivery position updates.

For local customers who desire to order online but pick up the products themselves, you can propose BOPIS options, like curbside or local pickup. This is a convenient way for local customers to skip shipping costs and pick up their purchases in-store, curbside, or from other locations you choose. 

Consider order routing to speed up delivery times

Order routing involves setting rules to automatically reroute shipments to the closest fulfillment center. This means orders are processed and shipped from the closest warehouse to the customer, reducing delivery period and costs. 

2. stake up on shipping and packaging supplies

Now it’s period to check that you have enough shipping and product packaging supplies to handle your forecasted sales. The last thing you desire is to realize you’re out of sticky labels halfway through your pending orders. Replenish your supply of printing labels if you’re using a desktop printer or upgrade to a thermal printer now rather than later. Order your carrier packaging well ahead of period too—for example, US merchants can stake up on free Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express Flat Rate packaging directly from USPS. 

Consider adding extras, like a gift-wrapping service. This can incentivize holiday shoppers to boost their average order worth, but you require to schedule in advance to make sure you have enough supplies to get you through the period. 

Shopify merchants can add a gift wrap alternative to their cart page or use an app like Gift Wrap Plus.

3. recognize and meet 2023 holiday shipping deadlines

Carriers release recent holiday shipping deadlines every year to ensure deliveries are made on period. This year, carriers are slowly releasing schedules, but with the ongoing supply chain disruptions and increased ecommerce on a global scale, delivery times may be delayed.

In expectation of another busy online holiday shopping period, keep an eye on your carrier’s shipping deadlines and factor this information into your delivery times. You can view last year’s holiday shipping dates in our assist Center or visit your carrier’s website.

Shipping deadlines for major carriers

The holiday shipping deadline will depend on which service and carrier you’re using. Here’s a brief overview of the main carriers’ deadlines: 

• FedEx: December 21 
• UPS: December 22
• USPS: December 19

4. Set your busy-period shipping and delivery schedule

The next step is figuring out the customer-facing details—specifically, what are you going to expense for shipping? The most ordinary options are free shipping, flat-rate shipping, and exact-expense shipping. We’ve got some tips to assist you figure out which one is correct for your store.

Free shipping

Unexpected shipping costs are the number one rationale people abandon their carts. Offering free shipping can boost conversion rates, but it’s not always cheap to provide (even with discounts from the main carriers) and can affect your margins. discover out what rates you require to cover, including how much it costs to ship your heaviest items to your furthest locations. 

Consider sending a free shipping coupon code to your current customers to inspire repeat orders, or offering free shipping above a sure order size to boost your average order worth. Watch out for shipping cutoff dates. If you’re only springing for free standard shipping, you’ll require to make the expected arrival dates crystal obvious so your customers can order in period for the holidays.

Pros:

• boost orders and conversions
• Meet customer expectations 
• boost customer loyalty
• boost a competitive edge 

Cons:

• You might have to expense more for products to cover the expense of shipping
• Economy shipping options tend to be slower

Flat rate shipping

If you desire to offset some of your shipping costs and still avoid sticker shock when people check out, a flat-rate shipping policy is a great concept. With flat rate shipping, you set a worth that will cover most of your shipping costs, most of the period, and will cover the expense for particularly expensive shipping options or items.

Flat-rate shipping also leads to higher conversion rates at checkout, compared to carrier-calculated rates. Your customers will recognize the shipping fees in advance, and you’ll still recoup most of your shipping costs.

Pros:

• No surprises at checkout 
• Consistency in shipping prices
• Clarity and transparency around shipping prices

Cons:

• You may complete up eating some of the costs
• Can be expensive when shipping larger, heavier items
• Customers may not get the best deal

Exact expense shipping

Exact expense shipping enables customers to view exactly what it’ll expense to ship their order and pay for it when they check out. They’ll get the same discounted USPS, UPS, DHL Express, Canada Post, and Sendle rates that are available to you as a Shopify merchant when you fulfill your orders with Shopify Shipping.

Pros: 

• excellent for heavier items that expense more to ship
• Transparency around shipping prices
• The customer pays the exact amount to ship their products

Cons: 

• Can deter customers from buying bigger items
• require to implement extra tools at checkout to compute shipping expense

Get orders to your local customers

You can propose local customers other ways to get their products. This can speed up your delivery period and make a better customer encounter while encouraging more local sales with the draw of quick and free (or affordable) delivery and pickup options.

Customers can skip the shipping rates and pick up online orders in-store, curbside, or from other locations. 

Pros:

• Avoid delivery delays
• Cheaper costs 
• Convenient and flexible 

Cons:

• Potential location mix-ups
• An extra step for customers to leave through

International shipping

Shipping internationally can open your business up to recent markets, but it requires an understanding of customs and related taxes in each country where you’ll sell. You might not be shipping internationally correct now because it seems complicated and expensive, but it’s not as tricky as you might ponder it is.

There are already carriers with international shipping options built directly into Shopify Shipping to streamline the procedure for you: USPS, DHL Express, UPS, Canada Post, and Sendle. You can ship with the same additional expense carriers that global retailers use with guaranteed express service, negotiated shipping rates, and service to over 220 countries and territories. Whichever alternative you use, when you purchase international shipping labels through Shopify Shipping, all customs forms and details are automatically generated for you. 

Pros: 

• Expand your reach to other markets
• Sell more products
• boost a competitive edge

Cons: 

• Can be a headache sorting taxes and customs in each country
• Potential shipping delays that are out of your control 
• Returns can be tricker 

5. Label products clearly and accurately

Your shipping labels are the key to a successful shipping schedule. They contain all the information a carrier needs to make sure the products get to their complete goal on period and within budgetary schedule. Speed this up by ensuring your products and packages are labeled clearly and accurately with the correct information. At the bare minimum, your labels require to include the postal code, country, order tracking number, date shipped, address, and weight. 

Adding an accurate weight to each of your products helps customers view accurate shipping costs during checkout. It’s excellent for them, but it’s also excellent for you: You’ll be able to quickly print correct shipping labels for each order because you won’t require to update or correct the weight mid-fulfillment.

require to figure out how much each product weighs? Order a shipping scale from the Shopify Hardware store.

6. Make shipping dates, prices, and delivery options obvious to customers

We recognize unexpected shipping costs can hurt your conversion rates, but “How much will it expense?” isn’t the only pressing question your customers have about shipping during the busy holiday period. Equally significant is “Will my order get here in period?”

Don’t be afraid to over-communicate when you’re answering both questions, since the answers are critical to anyone considering buying from you.

💡TIP: Communicating shipping speeds at checkout to your customers improves cart conversion, provides clarity and transparency, and increases confidence. discover more about how to add shipping speeds directly from your Shopify admin.

This email from Portrait Coffee shows how you can clearly let your customers recognize the cutoff to place their orders so they arrive before a holiday. 

Ways to communicate shipping information and deadline

Beyond email, here are additional ways you can get that information in front of the correct people at the correct times during the holiday shopping period:

• Add a banner. Promote shipping prices, options, and timelines on a sticky website banner to your store. 
• Use a pop-up. Let shoppers recognize when your shipping deadline is on a pop-up. 
• Add a homepage image. Or, a section that clearly communicates all of your shipping information.
• distribute on social media. Let your followers recognize your shipping cut-off dates on social media. 
• Send an email reminder. Let subscribers recognize when they require to order. 
• Update your FAQ page. respond the most ordinary shipping questions in one place.

In addition to your website, product pages, and checkout pages, it’s significant to provide customers many avenues to get the answers they require. This can include email or social media back, live gossip, a shipping policy page, and a assist center or FAQ page.

make a shipping policies page

Many customers will check a store’s shipping policy or FAQ page if they have a shipping-related question. Populating this page with the correct information helps customers discover answers quickly and reduces the require for them to contact you.

Setting up a shipping policies page is straightforward. make a recent page on your store, add a link to the page in your footer, and make sure to include information about:

• Tracking shipments
• Shipping options and delivery times
• Returns and refunds
• Customs and international shipping availability
• Lost or damaged packages

The details of any person policy will depend on your business, your products, and your margins, but having a central location to direct your customers to is the first step in proactively managing ordinary questions about shipping.

7. Prepare for returns

Typically, National Returns Day—the day buyers gain the most orders back to sellers—falls on January 2, but given the extended holiday shopping period, expect a higher volume of returns in December, January, and February. The average rate of returns over the holidays is typically 30%, which is a 10% boost compared to the rest of the year. 

There are three main ways you can handle the expense of gain shipping labels:

1. Your customer pays the expense of gain shipping
2. You pay the expense of gain shipping
3. A combination of the two

The correct schedule for you will depend on your margins, as well as your expected gain rate, but keep in mind that gain rates can be high during the holidays. Whatever you decide, make sure that you communicate your gain shipping information as clearly and prominently as you do your shipping rates—it’ll save you period and customer back attempt if people do decide to initiate a gain.

Your existing shipping policy page can house any information you’d like to provide about returns. Specifically, there are two large questions you’ll desire to respond if you propose returns:

What does it expense to gain an item?

Free gain shipping is quick becoming a basic expectation. While it’s not financially feasible for every business, sharing your gain shipping schedule and expense—whether it’s flat rate, exact expense, or free—on your policy page will assist preempt questions and set expectations.

Do you propose returns, exchanges, or both?

Answering this question upfront will prevent disappointment down the line, even if you don’t schedule to propose either alternative. That way, at least customers recognize ahead of period.

Here are a few carriers that allow you to propose gain shipping labels to your customers:

• USPS
• FedEx
• UPS
• DHL
• Canada Post
• UK Royal Mail
• Australia Post

If you’re a merchant in the US, you can use Shopify to manage returns from one centralized place. You can even make USPS gain labels for domestic orders directly in your admin, print them, and include them with your shipment. Or you can email a gain label to your customer from the gain Item page after the order has been fulfilled. If you have a UPS account added to Shopify, you can also print UPS gain labels.

8. Let customers track their order delivery position

After a customer has made a purchase, they’ll desire to recognize when it’s going to display up. Research shows that shoppers are obsessed with order tracking and visibility, which is why it’s significant to make shipment tracking available for every order, as early as feasible. 

The more effectively you communicate available order tracking options, the fewer pursue-ups you’ll get from anxious customers. Adding tracking numbers to all fulfilled orders can save you a lot of questions down the line. You can also propose ePacket tracking to put the power in your customers’ hands.

You can also add or customize an order position page on your store. After adding a tracking number, your customers can view shipping updates from their order page.

If you’re a merchant in the US or Canada, tracking is included with most carriers available through Shopify Shipping. Once you buy a label for an order, the tracking number is automatically emailed to your customers.

9. Prepare to manage customer’s expectations

Managing customer expectations is a critical part of the shipping procedure. Shoppers desire to feel reassured, especially if they’ve spent a large amount of money in your store. Throughout the shipping procedure, make sure you deliver excellent customer service. Not only will this keep current shoppers joyful, but they’ll be more likely to arrive back and shop with you again.

Here are some tactics you can implement to manage customer expectations:

• Provide obvious communication. remain in touch with customers throughout the shipping procedure.
• Be transparent. Proactively update customers on any changes to their orders, whether it’s a shipping delay or something else.
• Set deadlines. Make sure shoppers are aware of your shipping cut-off point if they desire to receive products by a sure date. 
• respond FAQs. make a dedicated page on your site that tackles commonly asked shipping questions. 
• propose website gossip. Implement a chatbot or extra back staff who can engage with customers and direct them to shipping and order tracking information. 

10. The most ordinary factor of holiday shipping delays

Sometimes even the best-laid plans leave awry. You can do your assessment and have a solid shipping schedule, but there are still things that will be out of your control that factor shipping delays. Here are some of the top reasons and how you can avoid them.

Inclement weather

Mother Nature has no mercy on shipping schedules (especially during winter). impoverished weather can delay shipments or, worse, damage them completely. Avoid inclement weather as best as feasible by putting contingency plans in place. Use different forms of transportation and optimize your routes to avoid the most at-uncertainty areas. 

Rise in demand 

A surge in sales is obviously a excellent thing, but it can arrive with some downsides. A sudden influx means you require to coordinate shipping for a lot more customers. Be flexible with your carriers and make sure you have enough packaging materials available for a excess of orders. Even more importantly, communicate with your customers as early as feasible if you’re expecting holiday shipping delays because of it. 

Shortage of workers

Supply chains are still experiencing labor shortages. While this is mostly out of your control, you can temper customer expectations by keeping them in the loop. Proactively address any delays via email or SMS and regularly update them on the position of their order.

schedule now for shipping and delivery achievement during the holidays

As a tiny business gearing up to get a piece of the holiday sales action, it’s significant to get your logistics on point well ahead of the busy shopping period. It’ll assist make a great encounter for your customers, and it’ll definitely assist make for a smoother encounter for you and anyone involved in helping you get those orders out the door.