Deadline looming to ensure gifts are on time
Hey procrastinators: If you think you’ve still got plenty of time to shop for Christmas and get those gifts mailed so they’ll be under the tree come Christmas morning, think again.
There are only a few days left if shoppers want to ensure that gifts will arrive on time, and that’s assuming that they’ll even be able to find what they want given the supply-chain challenges, labor shortages and empty shelves.
“UPS recommends shopping sooner than later, as in now,” said Michael Scott, a UPS spokesman based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “We really do want people to get ahead of the game.”
Retailers and delivery companies have been telling consumers for months to buy their holiday gifts early and get them mailed.
Some consumers seem to have heeded that advice.
Sales data for the Black Friday weekend, the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season, show consumers spent less than in 2020, but that sales overall in November and December are running higher than last year.
UPS, Fedex and the U.S. Post Office are offering services that will get packages delivered even as late as Dec. 23 or even Christmas Eve, but consumers really should have packages in the hands of the delivery company by the 15th, said Satish Jindel, president and founder of Shipmatrix, which helps customers more effectively manage their shipping.
Waiting beyond the 15th can be risky and expensive, he said.
“They have told the media before that the last date is Dec. 15 for ground services and Dec. 21 for express to avoid taking the risk of not receiving it by Dec. 24 as weather is very unpredictable around late December,” he said. “It is also an indication that they are not overwhelmed with the volume this year and eager to get more revenue from those procrastinators.”
Shipping an item from one end of the country to the other can take six or seven days, he said.
“In addition to the Delta variant, we now have the Omicron variant to deal with and it creates uncertainty of how it may impact consumers’ shopping habits and if they order more online, it will result in some decline in delivery service,” he said.
“Fedex is known for its speed and reliability, but we encourage our customers not to wait until the last moment to ship their holiday gifts to friends and family, and to shop and ship early this year,” the shipping company said.
Amazon also encouraged people not to wait.
When shopping on its website, customers can see the estimated delivery window for the item they’re interested in. Customers can filter search results to show only items that are available for Prime two-day delivery.
The U.S. Postal Service anticipates that between 850 million and 950 million packages will be delivered for the holidays and that an estimated 12 billion letters, cards and packages will be processed and delivered between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.
Scott of UPS recommends shoppers have a backup plan such as gift cards or tickets to an event should there be a shipping delay.
UPS has basically been operating on holiday mode since the coronavirus began, he said.
“A lot of people are still working from home, not going out much and still ordering online,’’ he said.
UPS, Fedex, the Postal Services and Amazon have been ramping up hiring to help meet demand. Just last week, UPS was still looking for 500 workers in Greater Columbus.
“We’re well staffed and we’re still hiring,” Scott said. “There are holiday jobs for the next couple of weeks and then at New Year’s there are a lot of returns and gift cards (that get spent) that can keep seasonal workers through January.” mawilliams@dispatch.com @Bizmarkwilliams
The U.S. Postal Service
anticipates that between 850 million and 950 million packages will be delivered for the holidays.