Holiday Shipping Success: Do’s and Don’ts for Peak Season
From meeting consumer expectations for shipping optionality to demand forecasting, this guide contains everything you need to know about holiday shipping in 2024.
The ultimate resource hub for retailers and merchants planning toward a successful holiday peak season.Â
We’ve simplified your 2024 holiday sales and fulfillment strategy with quick tips and in-depth guides from Ware2Go’s team of supply chain and fulfillment experts. This holiday season presents a unique set of supply chain challenges, but we’re here to arm you with the tools you need to make this holiday season a profitable one.
Are you prepared for the holiday shopping season? Download our 2024 Peak Report to learn how to add more shopping days, decrease operating costs, create more certainty, and navigate complexity this peak season.
How to extend the shopping season, decrease operating costs, create more certainty, and navigate complexity.
With five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you’ll want to kick off your promotional season early. This year, Peak will kick off with October Prime Days instead the traditional Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM).
This year, margin preservation is key. Instead of building out internal operations to support short-term high volume sales, supplement your existing operations with a short-term agreement with an outsourced fulfillment partner.
Amazon’s Peak surcharges could erode your margins, and strict inbound schedules limit your sales potential. Consider making the switch to SFP or adding SFP or FBM as a backup fulfillment option when you stock out of your high-velocity ASINs.
From meeting consumer expectations for shipping optionality to demand forecasting, this guide contains everything you need to know about holiday shipping in 2024.
Learn what inventory forecasting is, why it’s important, and best practices for future-proofing inventory forecasting.
Ware2Go’s VP of Supply Chain Execution, Kelton Kosik, shares 3 tips to help merchants set their warehouse partners up for success during peak season to
Peak shipping season is a result of the holiday shopping season. Peak season has always been a major seasonal sales driver for most merchants, but since the recent ecommerce boom, peak fulfillment and shipping have been a top concern for merchants looking to acquire new customers during the holiday season.
Peak shipping season begins at different times for all merchants, but this year will see  the shortest Peak season since 2019 with only 27 days. This year, Holiday shopping season starts with October Prime Days rather than BFCM. Peak shipping season ends after holiday returns have been made– typically by late January or early February. For ecommerce holiday sales, merchants should expect return rates of up to 40%.
To prepare for peak season, merchants should order inventory according to their demand forecasting models and supplier lead times, determine their marketing budget and build an advertising plan accordingly, and strategically position their inventory to achieve the best possible shipping speeds without sacrificing margins. (For more detailed tips, download our peak planning resource guide.)
Yes. Outsourcing peak shipping season to a 4PL or on-demand fulfillment partner is a great way to quickly scale up fulfillment operations to meet seasonal spikes in demand. In a 2020 survey, 44% of merchants indicated that outsourcing fulfillment simplified their operations. Additionally, outsourcing peak shipping can help SMB’s overcome the challenge of peak season carrier pickup caps.