Fall

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Shipping Strategy

Black Friday and Cyber Monday trigger the biggest ecommerce shipping surge of the year. Orders can spike 5-20x normal volume over 4-7 days. Carrier networks get stressed, pricing may surcharge, and your fulfillment operations need to scale fast. Here's how to prepare.

Carrier Deadlines

Carrier	Service	Last Ship Date
All	Pre-order processing	November 21 (before Thanksgiving)
All	Peak season surcharge begins	November 22
All	Cyber Monday orders	December 1 (ship Tuesday after CM)

Strategic Tips

💡 Carriers add peak season surcharges starting mid-November — budget 15-30% more per shipment
💡 Stock up on shipping supplies 2 months ahead — boxes, tape, labels all go into short supply in November
💡 Schedule carrier pickups in advance — last-minute same-day pickups may not be available
💡 Communicate expected ship dates clearly on your store — manage expectations
💡 Consider free-shipping thresholds to drive AOV — most shoppers accept free shipping with a minimum
💡 Pre-print labels in batches — thermal printer + CSV import cuts picking time significantly
💡 Pause vacation shipments through December if your operations are stretched — better than missing Christmas