Cyber Monday sales have altered how the shipping business works.
This year an extra 1 million people are expected to shop online, bringing the total to 122 million online shoppers this year, according to the National Retail Federation.
Customers have a handful of options to choose from when it comes to shipping whether it’s Fed Ex, UPS or the United States Postal Service. In fact, the USPS will handle roughly 750 million package this year alone.
Elizabeth Najduch, who works for the United States Postal Service, told 7 Action News that the rush to ship packages typically coincides with the boom in sales following Thanksgiving.
“We have extra personnel that we hire, we’re extending hours at retail locations, processing and delivering mail,” said Elizabeth Najduch.
Beginning this week, the USPS will also begin processing and delivering mail on Sundays for the remainder of the year.
“You might even see our letter carriers out there earlier in the morning.”
In just four years the number of packages being handled has doubled at post officers throughout the country. The year-to-year increases are also big. A market researcher, Adobe Digital Insights, noted that sales on Monday alone will likely exceed $3 billion. That would be an increase of more than 9-percent in a single year.
Of course, not everyone will be counting on the USPS to deliver online purchases; but also gifts that need to be personally shipped.
Depending on how you plan to send packages through the USPS there are a number of mailing deadlines, with varying prices, to keep in mind:
Dec. 09 – Military APO/FPO/DPO Priority Mail & APO/FPO First-Class MailDec. 15 – USPS Retail Ground (domestic)Dec. 16 – Military APO/FPO/DPO Priority Mail ExpressDec. 20 – First-Class Mail Cards and LettersDec. 21 – Priority MailDec. 23 – Priority Mail Express
If you choose to send a package using FedEx the prices vary, but the main thing to remember is that FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery services will not deliver on Saturday, December 24th. Which means last minute items sent using FedEx need to be sent one of the following ways: FedEx First Overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight or FedEx 2Day.
At UPS the last day to get packages to their final destination using UPS 3 Day select will be those sent on Monday, December 19. A variety of options to ship are available, but the latest you can ship is Friday, December 23 using Next Day Air in order to have a package may it to it’s destination before Christmas day, there is no delivery on the day of Christmas.
