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See USPS, FedEx, UPS deadlines

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See USPS, FedEx, UPS deadlines

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With Halloween in the rearview mirror, it’s time to focus on the holidays, which means nailing down your plan of attack for sending gifts this season.

Late Shipment has released its annual “State of Holiday Shipping” report, which details everything you need to know about the upcoming holiday season.

Carriers are expected to deliver 85 million packages daily during the holidays. The National Retail Federation also predicts a more than 2.5% increase in holiday sales over the next two months, with total spending estimated at between $979.5 million and $989 million.

Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa: When are all the holidays in December?

Depends where you look. Although the winter solstice doesn’t occur until mid-month on December 21, meteorological winter begins in just over a month, on December 1, which is a Sunday this year.

This is when the holidays are in December:

  • Christmas – Wednesday December 25
  • Hanukkah – Wednesday December 25 to Thursday January 2
  • Kwanzaa – Thursday December 26 to Wednesday January 1

This is the deadline for FedEx holiday shipping for Christmas gifts, packages before December 25, 2024

  • December 13: This is the last day for FedEx Ground service.
  • December 19: This is the last day for FedEx Express Saver and 3Day Freight services.
  • December 24: This is the last day for FedEx 2Day AM and 2Day Freight services.
  • December 22: This is the last day for FedEx 1Day Freight, Extra Hours, Standard Overnight, Priority Overnight and First Overnight.
  • December 23: This is the last day for FedEx SameDay, SameDay City Priority, and SameDay City Direct services.

Dates vary slightly when shipping to Canada, Mexico or Puerto Rico. For more information, see the FedEx guide here.

This is the deadline for UPS holiday shipping for Christmas gifts, packages before December 25, 2024

  • December 15: This is the last day for UPS Ground service.
  • December 19: This is the last day for UPS 3-Day Select service.
  • December 20: This is the last day for UPS 2nd Day Air service.
  • December 23: This is the last day for UPS Next Day Air service.

Dates vary slightly when shipping to Canada, Mexico or Puerto Rico. For more information, please see the USP guide here.

Here is the USPS holiday shipping deadline for Christmas gifts, packages before December 25, 2023

  • December 18: This is the last day for Ground Advantage shipping.
  • December 18: This is the last day for first class mail services and packages of certain sizes.
  • December 19: This is the last day for the Priority Mail service.
  • December 21: This is the last day for the Priority Mail Express service.

When shipping to Hawaii or Alaska, the dates differ slightly:

  • December 16: This is the last day for Ground Advantage shipping.
  • December 18: This is the last day for first class mail services and packages of certain sizes.
  • December 19: This is the last day for the Priority Mail service.
  • December 20: This is the last day for the Priority Mail Express service.

Dates vary slightly when shipping to Canada, Mexico or other countries. For more information, check out the USPS guide here.

What are some of the biggest trends that will emerge during shipping season?

Late Shipment shared insights into the upcoming holiday shipping season and predicted the trends the group is seeing now. Some highlights from the report include:

  • The holiday shopping season has been compressed to just 26 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, which could prompt consumers to make purchases earlier than usual, especially during prominent sales events like Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday.
  • Mobile commerce is expected to make up more than 54% of all e-commerce transactions during the holiday season, thanks to increased Gen Z engagement.
  • U.S. holiday e-commerce growth is expected to remain robust into 2024, with the NRF predicting an 8% to 9% increase year-over-year.
  • Retailers are expected to sharply reduce inventory as the season progresses, especially as peak sales approach and target price-conscious consumers.
  • UPS is expected to outperform FedEx in delivery reliability, with expected delay rates more than 1.5 times higher than normal during the peak season due to high demand and workforce constraints.
  • UPS is hiring approximately 125,000 seasonal workers, an increase over last year, to meet demand. FedEx has not yet announced similar efforts, which could potentially impact holiday efficiency.
  • Higher return volumes are expected, driven by an 8-9% increase in online shopping and gift trends during the holiday season.

What are some of the biggest issues that will arise during this holiday shipping season?

With Thanksgiving falling later this year, LateShipment says U.S. carriers will face unique challenges due to the short shipping peak.

“The shortened season, spanning just 26 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, combined with ongoing supply chain constraints, is expected to test shipping networks and strain carriers’ ability to meet demand for on-time deliveries.” , the report explains.

Additionally, carriers are increasing peak surcharges to manage costs associated with seasonal demand. Shipping deadlines have been adjusted, with cutoff dates between December 19 and 23 for expedited options, with early shopping recommended to ensure on-time delivery.

To what extent was Florida affected by package delays last holiday season? How are you doing this year so far?

Florida was among the top states for all carriers for package delays. The report notes that the state saw the highest rate of UPS package delays during the 2023 holiday season, with 10.2% of shipments arriving late – a trend that continued in 2024, with 9.7% delays in the regular period.

More specifically, Miami was the site of many package delays in 2023. The city had the highest rate of UPS package delays among major U.S. cities at 9.4%, followed by Houston at 8.56%. By comparison, Chicago had a lower delay rate of 6%.

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