A customer places an order expecting it to arrive before a major holiday. They’re counting on it to show up on time, whether it’s a gift, a last-minute purchase, or something tied to an important moment. When the delivery window passes without an update, the customer becomes frustrated.
They check tracking, but information is limited. With no clear answer, they reach out to support, concerned about whether the order will arrive at all. The experience introduces uncertainty at a critical moment and begins to erode trust in the brand.
Retailers are facing these scenarios more often as order volumes during peak shipping season continue to rise. In 2025, online holiday retail sales reached $257.8 billion, according to Adobe.
Most retailers enter peak shipping season with in-depth forecasts, staffing plans, and promotional calendars in place. But changing consumer behavior, sudden demand spikes, weather disruptions, and carrier constraints can quickly render plans obsolete and make it difficult to maintain reliable delivery experiences.
Preparing your business for peak shipping season now requires more than planning alone. Success depends on visibility, communication strategies, and operational coordination that help teams adapt quickly as conditions change and customer expectations continue to rise.
Key takeaways
- Peak shipping season success hinges on how quickly teams can adapt to changing conditions, not just how well they plan in advance
- Real-time shipment visibility and proactive communication help reduce disruptions, support faster decisions, and improve customer experience
- Preparing for peak shipping season requires aligned systems, trained teams, and clear coordination with carrier partners
What makes peak season difficult for businesses?
Peak shipping season challenges rarely stem from a single issue. Here are some of the most common factors that can lead to disruptions across your operations and impact your customer experience.
Demand is difficult to predict even with good planning
You build forecasts based on historical performance, planned promotions, and expected purchasing trends. However, once peak shipping season begins, demand patterns can change quickly, making projections outdated.
A product expected to perform steadily may suddenly surge in popularity after gaining traction on social media, while other anticipated bestsellers underperform. Economic conditions, changing consumer priorities, and broader market developments can also influence purchasing behavior with little warning.
As order volume shifts, your fulfillment plans, inventory allocation, and shipping demand need to adjust just as quickly. If a product suddenly trends and inventory isn’t positioned to meet that demand, your teams may scramble to rebalance stock, expedite shipments, or fulfill orders from alternate locations.
In many cases, that scramble happens too late to meet key delivery windows, leaving customers without orders they expected in time for a holiday or event.
External disruptions are unavoidable
Peak shipping season also places additional pressure on logistics networks. Weather events such as snowstorms or heavy rain can delay shipments across entire regions, while rising shipment volume increases the likelihood of carrier congestion and network slowdowns.
Carriers may also introduce volume limits during high-demand periods, requiring you to closely coordinate shipping capacity and fulfillment expectations in advance. When shipment activity exceeds planned thresholds, delays and operational bottlenecks can escalate quickly across the network.
Limited visibility slows response and communication
Your shipment data is often fragmented across order management systems, warehouse platforms, and separate carrier tracking tools. This makes it difficult for your teams to maintain a clear view of shipment status and delivery conditions.
As delays occur, your customer support teams may lack the information to answer questions confidently, while your operations teams struggle to identify which shipments require immediate attention.
At the same time, your customers expect accurate delivery estimates, proactive notifications, and timely updates throughout the delivery process, especially during peak shipping season. Without shipping visibility, you are left reacting after delivery commitments have already been impacted, increasing frustration for both customers and internal teams.
The cost of being unprepared compounds quickly
When delays occur, you’re often forced to absorb the impact through refunds, reshipments, and additional handling costs. What starts as a single disruption can quickly escalate into duplicated shipping expenses, lost inventory, and rising operational spend.
But the impact extends beyond the delivery itself. Increased support inquiries place additional strain on your customer service teams, while delayed responses and inconsistent communication frustrate your customers.
Over time, repeated disruptions can weaken customer loyalty and reduce repeat purchases. In fact, 52% of consumers say they would switch to a competitor after a single bad experience, placing additional pressure on acquisition efforts to recover lost revenue.
How to prepare for peak shipping season
When it comes to holiday shipping logistics, it’s best to expect the unexpected. You need advanced planning, but also the ability to respond quickly when disruptions occur. The following areas can help teams stay on track as conditions change.
Empower teams to respond to disruptions
To respond effectively to delays and other issues, your teams need clear visibility into what is happening across the logistics network, including access to shipment movement, delays, and delivery exceptions as they occur.
However, visibility alone is not enough. Predictive signals play a critical role by helping you identify potential risks before disruptions become widespread.
For example, when weather conditions begin impacting a region, predictive insights can help highlight shipments that may be at risk for delay. Your teams can then adjust delivery expectations, prioritize time-sensitive orders, or proactively notify customers before delivery commitments are missed.
Acting earlier gives you more flexibility in how you manage disruptions and helps reduce missed commitments and customer frustration.
Communicate to keep customers informed
Your customers are more likely to remain satisfied and continue purchasing when they receive clear, timely updates throughout the delivery process. Consistent communication helps reinforce trust and reduce uncertainty during critical moments in the customer journey.
Providing proactive notifications, accurate delivery windows, and delay alerts allows you to set expectations early and keep customers informed as conditions change. Embedding tracking directly into the brand experience, rather than sending customers to third-party carrier sites, improves the post-purchase customer experience while giving you more control over how updates are delivered and ensuring a more consistent, on-brand journey.
This also helps reduce “Where is my order?” (WISMO) and “Where is my return?” (WISMR) inquiries, limiting avoidable support volume during periods of increased operational pressure. When customers can access timely updates independently, support teams are able to focus on resolving more complex issues.
Align with carriers and plan for capacity
Peak shipping season requires close coordination between internal teams and external logistics partners. Operations, customer support, and fulfillment teams all depend on access to the same shipment information in order to respond effectively when conditions change.
Preparing for increased demand also requires early alignment with carrier partners around shipping volume, capacity expectations, and potential network constraints.
In practice, that means:
- Understanding shipment thresholds ahead of peak season
- Confirming escalation contacts
- Establishing clear communication processes before disruptions occur
Internally, your teams need shared access to accurate shipment data so customer support, operations, and logistics teams can respond consistently when delays arise.
Establishing these workflows ahead of peak season helps organizations resolve issues faster and maintain more consistent communication during periods of high demand.
Strengthen operational readiness across teams
To prepare for higher customer inquiry volume and increased shipment activity, teams need access to connected systems, accurate operational data, and workflows that allow them to respond quickly under pressure.
Automation can help reduce manual workload by delivering routine shipment updates automatically and surfacing relevant information when issues arise. At the same time, training your teams ahead of peak season helps ensure employees understand escalation procedures, communication expectations, and how to respond when disruptions occur.
When these processes are in place, you’re often better equipped to maintain operational consistency during periods of high demand.
Plan for post-peak returns and reverse logistics
The peak shipping period extends beyond outbound shipments. You can expect a surge in returns following the holiday season, often driven by extended return windows and gift-related purchases.
According to FedEx’s 2026 Future of Logistics Intelligence Report, 93% of decision-makers agree that their returns process builds customer trust and loyalty, highlighting how important it is to manage this volume effectively.
Returns require the same level of visibility and coordination used to streamline outbound shipments, as they often span multiple systems and carriers, making it difficult to maintain a consistent view of the return journey.
When return workflows, tracking, and communication are connected, your teams can monitor status in near real-time, respond more quickly to delays, and keep customers informed. Clear instructions and timely updates also help reduce “Where is my return?” (WISMR) inquiries during high-volume periods.
Aligning return workflows with shipment visibility allows you to manage reverse logistics more efficiently and deliver a more seamless customer experience.
Building a more resilient peak season strategy
Peak shipping season places pressure on every part of a retail business, from fulfillment operations and carrier coordination to customer communication and support. How you respond during these periods can directly influence customer loyalty, operational performance, and long-term revenue growth.
FedEx provides the predictive shipment insights, proactive notifications, and near-real-time visibility you need to make the most of every shipping surge.
Learn how FedEx’s digital solutions can help you build a more resilient and responsive peak season strategy.
Peak shipping season FAQs
What does peak season preparation involve?
Peak shipping season preparation involves forecasting demand, aligning with carrier partners, ensuring teams are trained, and implementing systems that provide real-time visibility into shipment activity.
How can retailers reduce WISMO inquiries during peak shipping season?
Retailers can reduce “Where is my order?” (WISMO) inquiries by providing proactive shipment updates and accurate delivery estimates, helping keep customers informed without requiring them to contact support.
How does real-time visibility help during peak shipping season?
Real-time visibility helps teams identify disruptions earlier, respond more quickly, and communicate updates more effectively across both internal teams and customers.
What are the biggest challenges during peak shipping season?
The biggest challenges during peak shipping season include unpredictable demand, carrier constraints, weather-related disruptions, and increased pressure on customer support teams.
How can businesses improve customer experience during peak shipping season?
Businesses can improve customer experience during peak shipping season by providing clear communication, accurate delivery timelines, and proactive updates that reduce uncertainty and build trust during high-volume periods.