This year, both Monday, Dec. 26, and Monday, Jan. 2, are USPS holidays. There will be no mail delivery, and the bulk mail centers (BMCs) and sectional center facilities (SCFs) have the option to be closed for drop-ship appointments, according to Rich Rousseau, vice president for Quebecor World Logistics. This will have a major impact on mailers with early-week in-home windows, who do not want their catalogs and other pieces in homes before the actual holiday.
Traditionally, says Rousseau, there are two types of requests by catalogers mailing around Christmas: Some want absolutely nothing in home prior to the holiday; others don’t mind “some” early in-home delivery. With the Monday holidays, the “absolutely nothing early” option will result in far more mail being delivered at the tail of the in-home week, and a good portion will likely wrap into the second week.
The only way to guarantee no in-home delivery prior to Christmas is to unload at BMCs and SCFs starting Saturday, Dec. 24. Unfortunately that is Christmas Eve, when appointments and driver availability will be scarce.
And since there won’t be appointments on Dec. 25 and only limited appointments on Dec. 26, the only way to guarantee nothing in home prior to Christmas is to unload on Tuesday, Dec. 27, and Wednesday, Dec. 28, for what is a December 27-29 in-home window. (The same will hold true the following week regarding New Year’s weekend).
The only other option, Rousseau says, is to use the “typical” early-week-in-home plan and unload your mail the Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday prior to the in-home window. Keep in mind, however, that this option will result in some mail getting in homes on Friday, Dec. 23, and Saturday, Dec. 24. (or Friday, Dec. 30, and Saturday, Dec. 31).