{"id":1273,"date":"2021-12-28T12:23:19","date_gmt":"2021-12-28T12:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shippingchimp.com\/blog\/?p=1273"},"modified":"2022-02-07T09:12:54","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T09:12:54","slug":"holiday-shipping-preparation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shippingchimp.com\/blog\/holiday-shipping-preparation\/","title":{"rendered":"Prepare For Holiday Shipping in 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The winter season always rings a bell in our years! Christmas is knocking at our doors and all we can think of is pleasant weather, good food and a lot of shopping! It is the peak holiday season again, and eCommerce stores should gear up for the holiday shipping plans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holiday shipping can be one hectic experience! Over 50 million<\/a> packages get shipped per day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That\u2019s one HUGE number, don\u2019t you think? But then, eCommerce stores can\u2019t miss out on affecting customers\u2019 post-purchase experience at any cost. Post-purchase experience is one of the key drivers of customer retention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you need is a holiday shipping calendar in place. A proper shipping plan will help you ace holiday shipping like a pro. Here are some preparation tips for holiday shipping 2021 and 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s get started. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An overview of eCommerce holiday shipping 2021 <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The year 202 witnessed groundbreaking responses in global eCommerce sales. Likely, this year’s peak holiday season will also be super-profitable for the eCommerce stores across the globe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results of 2020 clearly show that people are very much drawn to eCommerce shopping. In fact, only  4 out of 10<\/a> shoppers plan to visit to brick-and-mortar stores this year. This means greater opportunity for eCommerce stores to boost their profits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, eCommerce stores should also focus on the shipping aspects. Due to the peak holiday season, ports across the globe are preoccupied. Evidently, shipping carriers will charge higher shipping fees during this time. Also, if you don\u2019t plan your peak shipping, you may experience frequent delays from the courier companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make the most of the holiday season, eCommerce stores should plan the shipping activities and communicate their plans to the courier companies to get the products delivered in time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 Steps to plan your holiday shipping strategy <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Want to stay one step ahead of your competitors in this peak shipping season? Follow these easy steps: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Keep track of the unexpected demand <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The best way to ace holiday shipping is to plan in advance. By advance, we mean that you can start your shipping plans from September to make the most of the holiday season starting from November. Your plan should start by evaluating the expected demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, you must track last year\u2019s holiday performance to monitor key KPIs like total revenue, total shipping costs, top-selling product, worst-selling product, top sales channel etc. That way, you\u2019ll have an in-depth understanding of what to expect this holiday season, which products to stock up, which sales channel to target and so on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Begin the stock-up process <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Running out of stock means losing on sales. So, once you\u2019ve successfully forecasted demand, it is best to focus on the stocking up process. Here are the two aspects you should consider: <\/p>\n\n\n\n