2022 Holiday Shipping Deadlines

Don’t miss the shipping deadlines before the holidays. Even though consumers have begun their holiday shopping earlier, the deadlines to ship on time remain the same. Consumers and retailers alike should be aware of the holiday deadlines for the 2022 season. These deadlines are the latest dates you can ship a package with a carrier and have your packages arrive in time for the holidays. 

Carriers are hard at work getting your packages to you before the holidays. But labor shortages, increased demand, and supply chain shortages can put a dent in peak season planning. Carriers have implemented peak season surcharges to help with the costs. Find out more about surcharges here. 

Communicating with your consumers about deadlines to make sure orders arrive on time and inexpensively. Have you created a holiday shipping policy and a holiday return policy? Cut out any confusion before it happens by making these policies readily available for your customers to understand. It is also good practice to prepare your customer service teams about these holiday shipping deadlines as many commonly asked questions in e-commerce are about shipping timing. Customers like to know what to expect when it comes to their purchases, especially sound the holidays. 

For any last-minute shoppers, December 25th falls on a Sunday this year. That means Saturday delivery will be essential for some express or on-time delivery. For 2-Day or Next-Day services, there might be extra costs associated with getting your packages delivered on time, depending on the carrier. 

When shipping during the peak holiday season, be sure to give your customers the best shipping experience during the holiday by using multiple carriers. As you can see below, different carriers have different holiday shipping deadlines and prices depending on the service. DesktopShipper’s real-time rate shopping feature allows you to rate-shop all orders based on your preferred carriers to get the best price per parcel, based on zone, weight, and size. DesktopShipper is the only shipping solution to show you comparative rates in real-time all within the same window!

Please note: Holiday shipping deadlines are estimated dates. The actual deadline for each service might need to be adjusted based on where you are shipping from, where you’re shipping to, weather issues, or other conditions.

USPS

• USPS Retail Ground, December 17th
• USPS First Class Mail, December 17th
• USPS Priority Mail, December 19th
• USPS Priority Mail Express, December 23rd

FedEx

• FedEx Ground Economy, December 8th
• FedEx Ground, December 14th
• FedEx Home Delivery, December 14th
• FedEx Express Saver, December 20th
• FedEx 2Day Services, December 21st
• FedEx Same Day, December 23rd
  
  
  UPS

• UPS Ground Shipping, December 16th
• UPS 3Day Select, December 19th
• UPS 2nd Day Air, December 21st
• UPS Next Day Air, December 22nd