Expectations are high for a strong omnichannel holiday season, so retailers are preparing their shipping operations to avoid delivery and service hiccups, according to Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation (NRF).
Shop.org’s eHoliday survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, indicates that nearly eight in 10 retailers surveyed, or roughly 78.8 percent, will set their standard shipping deadlines for guaranteed Christmas delivery to expire at least a week before the big day. This compares to 73.7 percent last holiday season. In addition, approximately 21.2 percent will set their standard shipping deadlines to expire on December 19 or later, compared to 26.3 percent last year.
Of the 92.3 percent of retailers polled that plan to offer free standard shipping of some sort this holiday season, 69.1 percent said their guarantee for Christmas delivery will expire on or before December 19. Nearly three quarters of retailers polled last year, or 74.2 percent, had a deadline on the equivalent day; in this case, December 20.
In a separate survey released this past August, Shop.org asked retailers which site and service features they have invested most heavily in before the holiday season. Many agreed shipping and fulfillment features were of utmost importance, and according to the survey, 41.3 percent have invested significantly in live chat, and 34.5 percent noted they have invested in technologies that allow shoppers to check in-store availability. Other areas of investment include shipping deadline calendars (30.9 percent), ship from store functionalities (27.3 percent) and buy online/pick up in store services (25.5 percent).
For those waiting until the last minute, 20.6 percent of companies surveyed plan to offer a free or upgraded expedited shipping promotion, which will give customers until December 23 to take advantage of the offer. By contrast, 14.7 percent of retailers polled will let customers take advantage of that offer only through December 22, and another 14.7 percent will end their free expedited shipping promotions on December 21.
More than half of retailers surveyed that plan to offer express two-day shipping, or 56.6 percent, stated that their deadline for guaranteed Christmas delivery will expire on or before December 21, while the balance will end guaranteed two-day shipping on December 22.
When it comes to one-day express shipping, 50 percent are comfortable offering express one-day or overnight shipping as late as December 23 for a guaranteed Christmas delivery, while three in 10 have set December 22 as the deadline for their one-day express delivery deadline.
