Plan Ahead: A simple Guide to Holiday Store Timelines

The holiday season is busy, and even a small delay can snowball into chaos. This blog is here to help you avoid common holiday challenges and plan ahead so you stay on track through the end of the year. We’ve also included helpful tips from our sister company, Burghardt Sporting Goods (BSG), who have been running successful holiday stores through Chipply since before Chipply officially launched.

Here are some key factors that affect holiday timelines:

Vendor Lead Times May Change
Everyone is busy during the holidays—your customers, your vendors, and you. Don’t assume vendor lead times will stay the same as during the rest of the year. Vendors often experience longer lead times due to holiday closures, employees taking PTO, and year-end inventory checks. 

Production Times Can Increase
Higher order volumes and larger orders mean production capacity will be stretched. Expect production times to increase as the holiday season progresses.

Shipping Delays Are Common
FedEx and UPS estimate holiday delays around 5-10%, while USPS sees 4-8%. BSG recommends shipping via UPS when possible, as they’ve found UPS to be the most consistent during this busy season. Statistics show UPS has a slight edge with a 98% on-time rate, followed closely by FedEx at 97.8%, and USPS at about 95-96%.

Introducing Your Holiday Timeline Calculator

To help you navigate the busy season, we created a holiday timeline calculator that automatically factors in weekends and the Thanksgiving holiday. Here’s how to use it:

1. Determine Your Customers’ Desired In-Hands Date
   This is the date your customers want their products delivered. You’ll work backward from here.
   
   
2. Gather Vendor Lead Times
   Calculate lead time in business days from when you place an order until the items arrive at your facility. BSG recommends working with trusted vendors who deliver reliably and have strong inventory. Creating templates for your online stores with these reliable products can help avoid out-of-stock issues and delays.
   
   
3. Understand Production Capacity and Timelines
   Use your or your decorator’s data from past years to estimate production times. BSG continually updates their seasonal volume predictions to plan accurately.
   
   
4. Check Freight Carrier Holiday Schedules
   FedEx, UPS, and USPS publish their holiday closures. Keep an eye out for their year-end shipping deadlines for different service levels (ground, 2-day, etc.). Also consider where you’re shipping from and to—shipping across time zones or long distances may add extra time and cost.
   
   

A Couple More Things to Keep in Mind

Add Buffer Days
Unexpected delays can happen, whether it’s weather, production issues, or shipping problems. Adding a few buffer days can help prevent your schedule from falling apart and give you peace of mind.

Decide How Long to Keep Your Store Open
Typically, holiday stores stay open for two weeks. However, BSG suggests limiting stores to seven days to create a sense of urgency. Longer open periods can lead to shoppers delaying purchases or forgetting altogether. Their most successful stores have been open for just one week, which reduces last-minute orders.

After entering your information, the calculator will provide suggested store open and close dates. You’ll notice that we didn’t include “store build time” because Chipply stores are so quick to set up, it should only take minutes, not days. And if you get stuck, Team Chipply is just a phone call or email away to get everything sorted out. 

Remember, the calculator is a guide to help you plan, but you don’t have to follow it exactly. When possible, stagger your stores’ open and close dates so they don’t all end at the same time. This keeps your workflow more manageable, avoids overwhelming production surges, and allows you to process orders steadily instead of all at once.

Want to take your holiday prep even further? Impressions Magazine recently put together a great article on holiday sales planning and preparation that focuses on customer engagement, marketing, and sales strategies—perfect to pair with the timeline and production tips we’ve shared here.

You can find the calculator and other tools to help your holiday season run smoothly (like our Holiday Store webinar recording, Canva templates, and sample stores) at our Holiday Hub. Just click the button below to check it out.

Resources

Holiday Hub

The tools, tips, and templates you need for a smooth and successful holiday store season.

Holiday Hub