3 Delivery Challenges Ecommerce Brands Face This Christmas — and How to Solve Them
As soon as Black Friday is out of the way, ecommerce brands shift their focus to the next golden opportunity: Christmas shopping.
After all, the festive season isn’t just a time of joy and cheer — it’s also a key period for online shops to drive sales. But with opportunity comes challenges, and delivery experience is one area where even the best brands can falter. From surging order volumes to time-sensitive deliveries, ensuring a smooth delivery experience during the holidays can make or break your peak season success.
In this post, we’ll explore three common delivery challenges your brand might face this Christmas and how Zenstores can help you overcome them with ease.
Challenge 1: The Christmas Order Surge
The festive shopping frenzy often brings a dramatic surge in order volume. On the surface, this might seem like the perfect problem to have — more orders mean more revenue, right?
But without the right systems in place, your ecommerce brand could quickly find itself struggling to keep up. This can be overwhelming for smaller brands and less experienced teams, however even established brands can find it hard to keep up when orders start pouring in.
Increased order volumes can lead to shipping errors, order bottlenecks, delayed dispatches, and frustrated customers.
And the long-term consequences? A negative delivery experience can result in poor reviews, fewer repeat customers, and a hit to customer loyalty, which is crucial for sustaining your business post-peak season.
Solution: Streamline Your Fulfilment Processes to Manage the Rush
To turn this challenge into an opportunity, the right tools and processes are essential. Try using a delivery and fulfilment management platform, to simplify your processes and make the surge in orders easier to manage for your team.
With Zenstores Fulfil, you can print shipping labels, book shipments with leading carriers, such as Royal Mail, DPD, Evri and more, and dispatch orders with just a click, streamlining your entire fulfilment process. Whether you're managing a handful of orders or hundreds in a day, Zenstores Fulfil scales with your business, ensuring you stay ahead of the holiday rush and delight every customer.
Challenge 2: Can you Deliver Before the Big Day?
Many consumers will be looking to buy gifts online in the run-up to Christmas and every one of these customers has a shared concern: ensuring their gifts arrive on time before the big day — or even earlier to allow time for wrapping and placing them under the tree. If they can’t see a clear delivery estimate, they may abandon their carts altogether, worried that their gifts won’t arrive in time.
Adding to the complexity are Christmas last posting dates, which are essential for both you and your customers to be aware of. Delivery anxieties run high during this period, and any delays or miscommunications can lead to disappointed customers who are even less forgiving than usual when delivery deadlines are missed.
Solution: Transparent Delivery Promises to Keep Customers Calm
Preparation is key. Start by checking your carriers’ last posting dates and keeping track of any updates. Share this information clearly with your customers so that they know the final day to place an order for Christmas delivery.
Zenstores Convert takes this a step further by displaying accurate delivery promises directly on your product pages and at checkout. With Convert, customers can shop confidently, knowing their gifts will arrive on time. This transparency not only reduces delivery anxieties but also boosts conversion rates and decreases cart abandonment — helping you turn holiday browsers into loyal buyers.
Challenge 3: Meeting your Customers’ Shipping Needs
During the holiday season, your customers’ priorities may vary widely. Some are willing to pay for speedy or next-day delivery services to ensure their gifts arrive quickly, while others are focused on finding the best deals and may prioritise cheaper or even free shipping options.
If your ecommerce brand only offers a limited range of delivery options, you may risk losing entire segments of shoppers. Those seeking fast delivery might turn to competitors offering next-day services, while budget-conscious buyers may abandon their carts if free delivery isn’t available. Offering a variety of delivery options is crucial to meeting the diverse needs of your customers and maximising your holiday sales.
Solution: Flexible Delivery Choices to Capture Every Shopper
Cater to every customer’s needs this Christmas by offering the right mix of shipping services - focusing on key matters such as delivery speed and cost.
Zenstores Swift makes offering a range of delivery options easy by connecting your business with leading carriers at exclusive rates and discounts. With Swift, you can select the shipping services you require and win over both the last-minute shoppers and the savvy bargain hunters, ensuring no sale slips through the cracks.
Make your Christmas Shipping Stress-free
The holiday season is both a time of challenge and opportunity for ecommerce brands. From managing an influx of orders to meeting delivery deadlines and offering shipping options, mastering your holiday delivery game can turn seasonal shoppers into lifelong customers.
By proactively addressing these challenges, you can not only boost your holiday sales but also build trust and loyalty with your customers. A smooth delivery experience leaves a lasting impression, turning seasonal shoppers into long-term advocates for your brand.
Looking for more peak season shipping tips? Check out these blog posts:
A Guide to the Holiday Season for Ecommerce Brands
5 Peak Season Trends that Every Ecommerce Brand Needs to Know 2024
How to Plan and Run a Christmas Promotion
Ready to Elevate your Delivery Experience?
With Zenstores, you can simplify your shipping and provide an exceptional delivery experience this Christmas. Want to keep your holiday deliveries stress-free? See how Zenstores can help you handle the busiest season of the year with confidence.
Find out how you can get started here.