Welcome back to another edition of Shipping Unboxed! It’s officially time to get into the holiday spirit, so we’re here to unwrap all of your holiday shipping-themed questions. From holiday return policies to shipping deadlines, we’ve got you covered! So grab a cup of hot chocolate and get cozy for Shipping Unboxed: FAQs about Holiday Shipping.
Question Quick Jump
- What are shipping deadlines?
- Should I offer free shipping?
- What should I include in my holiday returns policy?
- How can I prepare for potentially lost or damaged shipments?
- Are insurance options important to holiday shoppers?
- Should I update my website for the holiday season?
- How can I offer my customers promo codes and other exclusive deals?
- Why are holiday marketing campaigns important?
- How can I organize my gift orders in ShippingEasy?
- How do I talk to my customers about shipping delays, supply chain issues, and other obstacles?
- What are some of the ways ShippingEasy can help me streamline my holiday shipping process?
- How can I save on shipping and shipping supply costs during this holiday season?
- Should I offer expedited or overnight shipping options for my customers?
Missed our other Shipping Unboxed posts? Check out Shipping Unboxed: FAQs about Tracking.
What are shipping deadlines? 🗓
What a perfect place to start! Shipping deadlines are the latest date you can ship a package and still have it arrive in time for Christmas. The holiday season has a higher shipping volume, so carriers need additional time to get packages delivered. It’s also a good idea to communicate these deadlines with your customers as soon as possible, so they know how much time they have to order gifts.
Looking for this year’s shipping deadlines? We’ve got you covered!
Should I offer free shipping? 🆓
If you can offer free shipping during the holidays, we recommend it! Your customers may expect free shipping, or at the very least, free shipping over a certain threshold. Offering free shipping can also help your business compete with bigger marketplaces like Amazon. Free shipping might not be feasible for your business, and that’s okay! Consider adding a free gift or additional discounts where you can as an incentive instead.
Learn more about how you can offer free shipping with our blog.
What should I include in my holiday returns policy? 🤔
The good news about holiday return policies is you can also use this as an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a solid year-round return policy. Confirm all of the information in your returns policy is accurate, and update any information that isn’t. The biggest thing to include for the holiday season is whether or not your return window will be extended. Also, check to see if your returns policy is easy to follow. The person who is returning the order might not be the same person who ordered it, and you have the potential to gain a new customer.
Check out more tips for holiday return policies in Ecommerce Holiday Returns: What Customers Want!
How can I prepare for potentially lost or damaged shipments? 💔
Way to think ahead! Be proactive and let your customers know to contact you immediately if a package arrives damaged. Tell them to take photos of the package and hang on to all of the packaging and items until you’ve filed a claim and received any compensation available. Also, encourage them to bring packages in as soon as they arrive if possible to avoid theft.
Read more about shipping insurance in our blog.
Are insurance options important to holiday shoppers? 🧐
Our recent study with Retail Economics shows that 37% of customers are worried about lost or stolen packages this holiday season globally. With this much concern, it’s definitely worth offering carrier services with included insurance options and/or offering additional insurance options for customers.
ShippingEasy merchants can purchase additional insurance options for shipments through our partner, Shipsurance. The cost of Shipsurance will vary, depending on the coverage you need, and it can be used for domestic and international shipments. Give your business and your customers more peace of mind this holiday shipping season, and provide insurance options at checkout.
Brush up on filing insurance claims with How to File an Insurance Claim with USPS, UPS, and FedEx.
Should I update my website for the holiday season? 💻
Absolutely. The holiday season is the time to review every section of your website to see if your customers are getting the best shopping experience. Look at all of your products and walkthrough your checkout process. Here are a few questions to keep in mind:
- Are all of the descriptions correct?
- Are all of the items on your site in stock?
- Is your site easy to navigate?
- How many clicks are there from the time you add something to your cart to the time you complete your order?
- Are your customer service channels easy to find?
Think about the things that you look for from a business when you’re online shopping. Your customers will most likely have the same expectations, so use this time to update your website wherever needed.
For more tips and tricks on keeping your holiday customers, check out our blog!
How can I offer my customers promo codes and other exclusive deals? 💰
Great question! You can offer your customers promo codes and exclusive deals through a few different channels. You can create a coupon for all customers to share on your social media or on the landing page of your website. This way, all of your prospective customers will have an immediate discount. However, you can also share coupons and deals with your loyal customers or customers you’d like to win back through email campaigns. These deals are more exclusive, so you can make your customers feel valued.
Why are holiday marketing campaigns important? 🎄
Holiday marketing campaigns are one of the best ways to broaden your customer base during the busiest shopping season of the entire year. You can use social media, email campaigns, and videos to showcase your products and your small business. Also, it’s a wonderful time to get creative! Show customers why they should keep your business in mind for gifts during the holiday season and beyond.
Get inspiration for your next holiday marketing campaign from our blog.
How can I organize my gift orders in ShippingEasy? 🎁
As long as your gift order is from an eligible store,* you’re able to filter your gift orders on the Orders page! You can also view gift messages from your customers and create a gift message on one of our packing slip or email templates where you can hide the cost of an order as well.
*Amazon, AmeriCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, PayPal, and Volusion
Light up your holiday shipping with the help of ShippingEasy!
How do I talk to my customers about shipping delays, supply chain issues, and other obstacles? 🗣
Keeping an open and honest line of communication with your customers is key. Communicate any potential shipping delays or supply chain issues that might impact the delivery time of orders. Be honest about inflation and other factors that are affecting the increases in your product and/or shipping costs. Your customers will truly appreciate your honesty and proactive communication.
Learn How to Communicate with Customers This Holiday Season with our blog.
What are some of the ways ShippingEasy can help me streamline my holiday shipping process? ⏰
We have many gifts for you, but we’ll focus on a couple! Shipping Rules help to automate your shipping process by automatically assigning criteria to your shipments. For example, you could create a Shipping Rule where a specific carrier service or packing slip template is applied to certain types of orders. Another feature designed to make your life easier is ConnectEasy. ConnectEasy is an app that allows you to automatically print your labels without having to go to your print queue first. Santa may have elves, but you have ShippingEasy.
Find out more about ShippingEasy in Shipping Unboxed: FAQs about ShippingEasy!
How can I save on shipping and shipping supply costs during this holiday season? 💸
Did you know you can order free shipping supplies from USPS and directly from your ShippingEasy account? You can even find refurbished thermal printers to step up your label printing instead of having to buy a brand-new one. In our blog round up, we’ve collected all of our blogs that feature free and discounted shipping supplies and the cheapest shipping options available to you.
Additionally, our recent study with Retail Economics found that 30% of customers are concerned about insufficient packaging globally. Opting for USPS supplies helps your business access sturdier packaging, keeping products safe and secure throughout their journey. This way, you don’t have to spend time during the holiday shipping season looking for ways to keep your tree and shipping budget in the green while trying to align with customer expectations.
You can find even more ways to save this holiday season over in our blog.
Should I offer expedited or overnight shipping options for my customers? 🌙
With Christmas falling on a Monday this year, it’s worth considering! A big holiday falling right after a weekend means your customers might be traveling and need their gifts to arrive at their destination when they do. Or, your customers just might need to order some last-minute gifts. If you’re able to offer expedited or overnight shipping options, you could save the day for last-minute shoppers.
Our recent study with Retail Economics found that 38% of customers are concerned about long delivery times this holiday season globally, so they’ll appreciate the extra efforts. Just keep in mind that some of these carrier services are also subject to shipping deadlines.
Sleigh your holiday shipping with a 30-day free trial of ShippingEasy!
Baillee Perkins
