Last Updated on Oct 29, 2019 by Numinix Developer
E-commerce shopping is at its peak around the holiday season, which means that business owners need to be prepared for the influx of shoppers. It’s important to note that when customers make a purchase for a holiday gift, they expect prompt delivery and they also expect that their estimated delivery dates be met. That is why you should avoid the following e-commerce shipping mistakes.
Neglecting to communicate carrier cutoffs
Most holiday shoppers expect their items to arrive on or before December 24th in order to have them wrapped up and ready for their festive affairs. Unless you set a proper expectation and anticipate shipping delays, you may be left with some unhappy holiday shoppers. It’s important to communicate with customers and let them know before they proceed to check out the item(s) they’ve selected will most likely not make it to their doorstep before Christmas.
Have enough staff to help
Ensure that you’re properly staffed during the holiday season. One of the greatest challenges that e-commerce companies face this time of year is the overwhelming amount of orders that need to be picked, packed, labeled and stacked prior to shipping them out. Hiring temporary workers may be beneficial around this time, especially if you foresee your orders stacking up.
Running out of packing materials
Such a rookie mistake, but it probably happens more often than you think. As a business owner, it’s important to make sure that you take a look at what your orders exceeded last year and use that as a reference point to determine what you can expect in sales this year. Don’t leave it until last minute because you will need plenty of boxes, labels, tape and bubble wrap in order to avoid this e-commerce shipping mistake.
Make sure you validate delivery addresses
Something as simple as an incorrect zip code can really affect your shipping estimates. A bad address is a big problem in e-commerce…especially around the holidays. So, if you feel like a customer has incorrectly entered their shipping address then take the time to email and confirm with them in order to avoid a package being lost in limbo.
Don’t spoil the surprise
One of the biggest e-commerce shipping mistakes is stamping a branded logo or an outwardly visible receipt onto the package. If at all possible, wrap the contents of the items in a plain, brown box in order to help surprise the gift recipient when they unwrap their present.
Are there any other tips that you can give business owners when it comes to shipping around the holidays? Tell us in the comments section below.