Purpose: This article is to inform you about the increased demand for carrier services and how best to prepare for delays.
Note: You can check the status of our partner carriers here.
How to best prepare your customers for expected delays
Online shopping was growing before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, however, this year it has accelerated dramatically. This is expected to grow as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the holiday season approaches, placing added strain on the supply chain and increasing demand for final-mile deliveries. Below are some tips to deal with the upcoming peak season:
Communicate with your customers
The first thing you should do to deal with delays is to contact your customers and explain the reasons why they're not receiving their orders on time. Sendcloud offers personalized messages through our track and trace feature. Using track & trace, you can keep your customers informed on the status of their shipment. Check this article to learn how to enable track &trace. We also recommend that you communicate this on your webshop and through your other communication channels.
Activate delayed email in your track & trace settings
The delayed email is available for Small shop plan and higher. Activate the delayed email and customize the text to your liking for all the countries you are shipping to in your Sendcloud settings.
- Change the dynamic tags to select the correct carrier. This can be done by typing
{and the carrier name. Please check the other tags before proceeding. - Click "Example" and check for any mistakes.
- You can also send a sample to your email address by clicking "Send Sample".
- Click "Save", now when your next shipment is sent your customer will be notified about the carrier delay.
Offer a longer return time in your returns policy
According to the Consumer Contracts Regulations, when a customer buys an item online, by law, they have 14 days to return it. However, with carrier delays up to one week during this time of adjustment, it's a good idea to consider increasing this length of time.
Take note of corona related restrictions
Most carrier services can continue to operate. However, it may occur that the area you hope to deliver to is placed under restriction. In this case, your package should be delivered at a later date. However, you should contact your carrier and customer if this occurs.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst
Make sure you know what you'll need in case of a lost/damaged parcel and how to prevent it. Read this article for more information on Sendcloud insurance.
Current major carrier delays
- DHL
- DPD
- Post NL
- UPS
You can check the status of our partner carriers here.