It might only be November, but for holiday shoppers, it's not too early to look for the perfect gifts. As an eCommerce business owner, it's the busiest time of the year for sales. But the real question is - what's the best way to navigate the season's spike in online purchases? 

It’s a trying time for eCommerce companies: record stock shortages and shipping delays are occurring this holiday season. In fact, “out-of-stock” messages in eCommerce online stores are forecasted to increase up to 172% compared with 2020. 

Prep for Cyber Monday

It’s a tough season, especially as it’s immediately after the immensely profitable Cyber Monday that happens Monday, November 29th. Even the White House is taking steps to avoid holiday season bottlenecks in ports on the West Coast. 

Despite this, many people blame shipping services or delivery providers - which doesn’t bode well for eCommerce businesses and customer relations. According to Deloitte, another 21% of consumers will blame the retailers and sellers. This is an even worse scenario. 

But - don’t fret. That’s what we’re here for. Think of this blog as your ‘go-to’ guide for managing holiday shipping deadlines and ensuring that your business doesn’t deal with any 2021 holiday shipping nonsense. 

We’ve designed this as a handy resource geared towards holiday season shipping for small eCommerce businesses. It’s formulated to truly save you time and money over the upcoming 2021 winter shopping extravaganza.

The 2021 Holiday Shipping Guide

During the holiday season, e-commerce businesses make a tremendous amount of revenue from holiday-related gift shopping. It’s a tough season for shipping because these days, shoppers expect both inexpensive and fast shipping. Even during the holiday season! 

However, there are steps that every brand can take to manage the challenges of holiday shipping. 

Find out some surprising statistics, shipping tips, and shipping deadlines and peak surcharge prices in the infographic below! You won't want to miss this essential resource for every e-commerce entrepreneur who wants to handle shipping during holidays. 

Let the holiday shipping guide commence!

(source: https://www.outerboxdesign.com/web-design-articles/mobile-ecommerce-statistics)

Streamline Your Checkout Process

Consider this: it’s going to be a busy, stressful, and hyper-competitive holiday shopping season in 2021. As a result, you should make the purchasing process as easy as possible. Your website should be easy to navigate and reach payment. Smooth, simple, and streamlined. 

Next, you can consider adding a ‘Holiday Shipping Deadline’ to your website. It’s worth doing so customers know when they should receive their package and have managed expectations before ordering. That’s why it’s a good idea to cover yourself: every customer will know when they should get their goods during the 2021 holiday shipping rush.

It’s imperative to consider mobile optimization, as we saw in the graphic above. One thing you can do is check out examples of best practices in the eCommerce space when it comes to web design, perfecting checkout, effective user engagement, and sales funnels. 

It makes perfect sense to consolidate your shipping operations into one place that makes life easier. Continually streamline your business processes - especially concerning the complex shipping industry in 2021. You’ll also want to utilize advanced shipping software solutions to identify to perfect rates, bind coverage, and file claims flawlessly. 

Holiday Shipping Deadlines in 2021:

For the USPS, 2021 holiday shipping deadlines for the contiguous U.S. are:

UPS recommends the following deadlines for packages to arrive by Dec. 24:

FedEx offers the following deadlines for mail to be received by December 25th, 2021:

Sources:
https://www.usps.com/holiday/holiday-shipping-dates.htm
https://www.ups.com/assets/resources/media/en_US/US_Days_of_Operation_Schedule.pdf
https://www.fedex.com/en-us/holiday/last-days-to-ship.html

Prepare for Shipping Cost Increases

Many of the major shipping companies are planning to temporarily increase package costs due to pandemic-driven delays. This is a global shipment problem driven by a logistics crisis ranging from everything from raw materials (such as lumber and steel) to consumer goods.

As a result, the US Postal Service is increasing shipping rates for the first holiday season ever in 2021. Additionally, the USPS is increasing costs between October 3 and December 26. This will include price increases from $0.75 more for flat rate boxes and envelopes to $5.00 more for packages up to 70 pounds.

As we can see above, ‘porch pirates’ are as prevalent as ever in 2021. This is a great impetus to strengthen your shipping insurance in an easy-to-use platform that makes it stress-free and easy. 

But more on that later! 

Moreover, regarding the shipment crisis: global shipping is currently facing a logistics crisis impacting shipments of everything from lumber to steel. The cost to transport items continues to rise, thanks to a lack of ships and labor and even the massive shipping containers used to house items on international freight ships. 

Save on Shipping Insurance Costs

With Cabrella Shipping Insurance, you can save up to 90% in shipping insurance costs with our customized shipping insurance software. It’s a spectacular way to ship & insure for small to mid-sized shippers.

Why?

Part of the reason is that you can use Cabrella to generate labels and insure packages simultaneously. You can plug in your own carrier accounts or call us to see if you qualify for our discounted accounts. 

On top of this, users can connect Cabrella to internet shopping cart providers such as Shopify and others to automatically pull orders into your system for fulfillment. 

Having a smooth operating system means that you can meet those holiday shipping deadlines while saving on both insurance and freight. Easier shipping while drastically improving your bottom line? Count us in. 

Why make 2021 holiday shipping more difficult than it should be? Cabrella Shipping Insurance can save you up to 90% in shipping insurance costs by offering customized eCommerce shipping solutions. Fill out the form below to get in touch, or apply for shipping insurance to get a great quote today. We’ve got shipping down to a ‘T.’ Give us a call - we can solve your shipment needs.