The holiday shopping season is here and you do not want to miss a thing – Mark your calendars with the important dates we outlined below!
By: Catherine Perry
There is no debating it—we are in the holiday shopping season already! It seems to start earlier every year, doesn’t it? With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it means that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are fast approaching. We know you are ready for the time of year when consumerism is at its highest. And, if you aren’t, get to it pronto!
We have given you the projections for this year’s holiday season in other blogs, but just in case you missed them, here they are again. It’s going to be big! According to Marketingland, reporting NetElixir’s tabulations of nine years of aggregate data from mid-sized and large online retailers in their article “2017’s Holiday E-commerce Sales Projected to Grow 10% Over Last Year’s Holiday Season,” the forecast is for this year’s holiday e-commerce sales to see a 10% year-over-year growth rate. That is just for e-commerce, folks.
In terms of all of retail, Marketingland forecasts consumer spending over Black Friday weekend to grow by 47% from the same period in 2016. This article cites RetailMeNot’s survey data that shows consumers planning to spend an average of $743 during the weekend that runs from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. And, another interesting statement to note in this article is that “Cyber Monday has become even bigger than Black Friday in terms of online sales.” That’s you, Mr. and Ms. E-commerce Owner!
Another number projected for this holiday season comes from www.retail.emarketer.com. They report “U.S. retail e-commerce sales are expected to jump 16.6% during the 2017 holiday season, driven by increases in mobile commerce” and online shopping trends.
RELATED ARTICLE: THREE YEARS OF GROWING HOLIDAY ECOMMERCE SALES
As you can see from these articles, this season is going to be very strong for e-commerce. So, in preparing to be as ready as possible through the entire holiday shopping season, we wanted to give you some shipping dates to put on your calendar for FedEx, UPS, and USPS. These dates are for shipments to arrive before December 25, 2017. (Please note we are giving you the shipping dates for within the U.S. Deadlines for shipping packages internationally varies based on the destination. See the specific service for dates if shipping with international destinations.)
FedEx
See FedEx 2017 Last Days to Ship for entire holiday schedule.
Shipping within the U.S.:
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December 15: Last day to ship for FedEx Ground
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December 18: Last day to ship for FedEx Home Delivery
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December 19: Last day to ship for FedEx Express Save
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December 20: Last day to ship for FedEx 2-day
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December 21: Last day to ship for FedEx First, Standard, or Priority Overnight
UPS
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December 18: Last day to ship for UPS 3-Day Select
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December 20: Last day to ship for UPS 2nd-Day Air
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December 22: Last day to ship for UPS Next Day
USPS
See USPS Holiday Shipping Deadlines for entire shipping dates.
Within the contiguous United States:
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December 14: Last day to ship for USPS Retail Ground Service
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December 19: Last day to ship for USPS First-Class Mail Service
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December 20: Last day to ship for USPS Priority Mail Service
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December 22: Last day to ship for USPS Priority Mail Express Service
If you currently own an ecommerce business we invite you to read the following blog posts for tips in preparing your online business for the holiday season!
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6 Tips to Help You Prepare Your Online Business Now for the 2017 Holiday Shopping Season
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Deck Your Site Out For The Holiday Season
