5 Tips to Prepare for the Holiday Shipping Rush

Content Manager

Even though the holiday season is almost here, there is still time to prepare for the rush. Merchants are actively getting ready for what many believe will be a busy holiday season.Here are five holiday shipping tips worth implementing:

Providing More Information to Reduce Returns

Explore different ways to reduce returns before the transaction takes place.  This can include providing detailed product descriptions, highlighting customer reviews that give others insights into the product, transferring gift options such as size and color preferences to the recipient before the product is shipped to ensure it’s the perfect gift. –  Accelerate Holiday Gift Sales With with an Ecommerce Tune-up.

Offer a Shipping Schedule

Let your customers decide how soon they want to receive their order by providing multiple shipping options. Holiday delivery schedules should be prominently displayed in the cart, so buyers can make sure their gifts arrive on time—even for those last-minute procrastinators. – 5 Tips to Optimize Your Shopping Cart  

Meeting the Needs of Today’s Connected Shopper

Today’s connected customer is looking for the ability to buy online and pick up in-store and same day shipping.  To meet these demands, retailers need global inventory visibility to know what’s available where and strong inventory management capabilities that work across multiple locations to ensure the product can be shipped quickly and for the lowest cost possible. – How to Reach the Cross-channel Consumer This Holiday

Increase Customer Engagement with Order Histories

Staying on top of consumer order histories could be a great way to not only continue customer engagement but also boost sales. If you know of customers that buy products from you during the holidays, send a gentle reminder about upcoming holiday sales or products of interest. Some companies start sending reminders to their best customers in August—but you need to determine the timing strategy that works best for your organization.- 5 Tactics to Reactivate Lapsed Customers

Keep Customers Informed of Delays

If customers are not alerted to any type of delays, especially during the holiday season can result in decreased lifetime customer value, decreased reorder rates and a decrease in the likelihood to recommend the brand –  Free Shipping Major Cyber Monday Focus