Holiday shipping deadlines for 2024: important dates & tips for ecommerce businesses

Ecommerce
November 6, 2024
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The holiday season is prime revenue time for ecommerce businesses—as long as they manage to deliver their packages to shoppers.

To make sure you’re prepared, we’ve consolidated 2024 holiday shipping deadlines for all major US shipping services. Keep reading for tips on how to meet these deadlines and keep customers happy during the busiest time of the year.

Key holiday shipping deadlines for 2024

While ecommerce businesses usually see most of their sales during Black Friday Cyber Monday, the holiday shopping season is in full swing until Christmas and New Year’s. That’s why most of the following shipping deadlines are built around Christmas Eve.

These are the holiday shipping cutoff dates in the US for UPS, FedEx, and USPS:

UPS holiday shipping deadlines

UPSShipping deadlineEstimated arrival day
UPS® GroundCustom based on cityCustom based on city
UPS 3 Day Select®December 19December 24
UPS 2nd Day Air®December 20December 24
UPS Next Day Air®December 23December 24

FedEx holiday shipping deadlines (US domestic parcel services)

FedExDeadlineEstimated arrival day
FedEx Ground® EconomyDecember 13December 24
FedEx Ground®December 17–23 (custom)December 24
FedEx Express Saver®December 19December 24
FedEx 2Day® and FedEx 2Day AM®December 20December 24
FedEx First/Priority/Standard Overnight®December 23December 24
FedEx SameDay®December 24December 24

USPS holiday shipping deadlines (US domestic mail)

USPSDeadlineEstimated arrival day
USPS Ground Advantage® ServiceDecember 18Before December 25
First-Class Mail® ServiceDecember 18Before December 25
Priority Mail® ServiceDecember 19Before December 25
Priority Mail Express® ServiceDecember 21Before December 25

International holiday shipping deadlines

If your brand ships packages outside the US, take a look at these important international shipping deadlines:

To Canada before December 25
USPSFedExUPS
First-Class Package International Service®: December 9International Connect Plus®: December 17UPS® Standard: custom based on city
Priority Mail International® Service: December 9International Economy®: December 18UPS Worldwide Expedited®: December 20
Priority Mail Express International® Service: December 16International Priority®: December 19UPS Worldwide Express®: December 23
International Priority Distribution®: December 19
International First®: December 20
International Next Flight®: December 23
To Mexico before December 25
USPSFedExUPS
First-Class Package International Service®: December 9International Connect Plus®: December 19UPS® Standard: custom based on city
Priority Mail International® Service: December 9International Economy®: December 19UPS Worldwide Expedited®: December 19
Priority Mail Express International® Service: December 16International Priority®: December 20UPS Worldwide Express®: December 20
International First®: December 20
International Next Flight®: December 23

Which major shipping services are operating on which holidays?

If you’re scrambling at the last minute on any holiday, here are the major shipping services you’ll be able to access on day of, including UPS, FedEx, and USPS:

UPS holiday operations

HolidayOperating?Notes
Veterans Day (November 11)YesPackages mailed by UPS SurePost® and UPS® Mail Innovations require an extra business day in transit during federal holidays.
Thanksgiving (November 28)NoSome UPS store locations may be closed. Confirm operating hours for the store close to your location.
Black Friday (November 29)YesUPS services resume operation the day after Thanksgiving, which marks the start of BFCM sales.
Christmas Eve (December 24)YesUPS® pickup for Air and international Air services only if pre-arranged by December 19, 2024. No UPS Ground® service pickup.
Christmas Day (December 25)NoSome UPS store locations may be closed. Confirm operating hours for the store close to your location.
New Year’s Eve (December 31)YesUPS® pickup for Air and international Air services only if prearranged by December 26, 2024. No UPS Ground® service pickup. Some UPS store locations may be closed. Confirm operating hours for the store close to your location.
New Year’s Day (January 1)NoSome UPS store locations may be closed. Confirm operating hours for the store close to your location.

FedEx holiday operations

HolidayOperating?Notes
Veterans DayYesWhile open, FedEx Express® and FedEx Ground® Economy are on modified service.
ThanksgivingNoFedEx Custom Critical® is open on Thanksgiving.
Black FridayYesFedEx Express® is on modified service.
Christmas EveYesWhile open, FedEx Express® is on modified service.
Christmas DayNoFedEx Custom Critical® is available.
New Year’s EveYesWhile open, FedEx Express® and FedEx Freight® are on modified service.
New Year’s DayNoFedEx Custom Critical® is available.

USPS holiday operations

As opposed to UPS and FedEx, which offer some modified services on some major holidays, the USPS and other post offices are closed during major and federal holidays, including:

  • Veterans Day
  • Thanksgiving
  • Christmas

No mail will be delivered on these days, so make sure to plan your packages in advance so they can arrive before operations shut down on these dates.

4 holiday shipping tips to keep customers happy

It’s easy for shipping services to become overwhelmed during the holidays. Throw in unpredictable factors like bad weather or supply chain issues, and pretty soon you realize that some delays can’t be avoided—even if you’ve carefully planned for shipping deadlines.

Still, there are a few steps you can take to make sure your brand is protected against any delays. Here are some tips to help you keep customers happy by either preventing delays or communicating effectively about them.

Announce holiday sales early.
1

The safest way to steer clear of shipping delays is to plan ahead for the season. To ship your packages early, announce your holiday sales 2–3 weeks before the holiday. This way, you can make sure potential customers see your offer and have enough time to consider their purchases before taking the plunge.

Set up real-time order tracking.
2

Many customers who face shipping delays are often less upset about the delay and more upset about a lack of communication about the delay. Order tracking is the best way to get around this, as it offers an always-on window into shipping timelines for the customer. If you’re not already taking advantage of flows, you can create one for shipping confirmations and order updates.

Proactively communicate shipping delays to your customers.
3

So much of stellar customer service is just transparent communication. Shipping delays are sometimes inevitable—when they do happen, you can still keep customers happy by keeping them in the know. When in doubt, just be honest—and if you can afford it, a free gift won’t go unnoticed.

Offer free shipping.
4

If it makes financial sense for your brand, offer free shipping during the holiday season. Even if you don’t have enough financial leeway to offer free shipping, you still have some options, including setting a minimum order value to qualify for free shipping, offering free shipping only to your VIP program members, and sending out a “last call” for free shipping.

Read our deep dive for more details on the above recommendations, plus 6 more tips on how to avoid ecommerce shipping delays around the holidays.

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Nevena Radulovic
Nevena Radulovic
Nevena Radulovic is a seasoned content editor and writer with experience in researching and refining content across multiple platforms and niches, including finance, marketing, and retail. Having studied linguistics at a high level, Nevena places a strong focus on clarity and accuracy.

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