As peak is underway, there’s some things you can do to make it seamless and streamlined. Peak season brings bigger volumes, higher expectations, and tougher competition. Preparing for the unexpected gives you the edge to meet demand efficiently and deliver the seamless experience your customers expect.
Forecasting
Forecasting isn’t just beneficial for your business, it also supports your fulfilment provider, your delivery partners and the carriers you rely on. In our own data we typically see a 30-40% increase in volume throughout the peak period.
However, according to a broader industry review, many merchants still struggle to meet volume-spikes effectively: 58% of companies reported delivery timing or order-accuracy shortfalls during recent peaks (Deposco,2025).
Meanwhile, broader eCommerce growth continues: global B2C eCommerce is expected to reach around US$4.8 trillion in 2025, with online sales representing roughly 23 % of total retail sales (Shopify, 2025).
So, what does this mean for you? Pull out your historical sales figures for previous peak periods, overlay recent volume trends, and build a robust plan for extra staff, extended operating hours and logistics contingencies.
Last Shipping Dates
Communicate clearly to your customers when the last recommended shipping dates are for Christmas-arrival.Transparency now helps avoid unnecessary customer queries, complaints and resource drain. Check these dates alongside our carriers for UK and international shipments in our previous blog.
Given global delivery disruptions (see below) they may need to be earlier than many assume.
Global Supply-Chain & Delivery Disruption
You’ll want to build in slack for known and unknown risks: strike action, public holidays, natural disasters, customs delays, imports/exports issues. At MHI we provide a weekly service bulletin to our clients, informing them of the latest news that may impact delivery.
Industry survey data shows that 47% of companies said their systems couldn’t handle unexpected volume spikes, a respondent in the survey commented how “simpletasks became bottlenecks” during peak demand. (Deposco, 2025)
Furthermore, in the US holiday-period, parcel delivery volumes are forecast to rise about 5% in 2025 (≈2.3 billion packages), highlighting the pressure carriers and networks will face (Reuters, 2025).
Build in buffer, avoid assuming “business as usual” will cope.
Collections & Handling
Ensure your collection arrangements remain agile. Keep consumables (pallets, packaging, labels)well-stocked, adapt collection timings as volumes increase, and align your fulfilment schedule with carrier pickup windows.
As one study noted: companies which processed significantly more orders during peak while using the same staff highlighted that having real-time visibility and system-directed work was the key to seamless peak operations (Deposco, 2025).
Switch to Tracked Services
Tracking is no longer optional. Industry statistics show that 73% of consumers want to be able to track their orders, while 96% of those given tracking options use them. We’ve noticed that generally, online shoppers expect a faster delivery window of around 1- 2 days, highlighting the need for express delivery services in addition to tracked.
Offering your customers choice and transparency significantly enhances the customer experience, reduces queries and improves customer satisfaction. Our flexibility means clients can switch to tracked or express services for the peak period only and switch back once demand reduces to a normal level.
Monitor & Control
Data and analysis are essential. Daily visibility of orders processed, scan reports, missing data, query flags all enable you to spot busy days, deploy extra staff and re-allocate resources.
According to one peer study, despite 70% of supply-chain leaders entering peak confident, only 42% achieved strong system performance (Deposco, 2025)
Using real-time data can help you optimise your operations this peak and use the resulting insights to feed into next year’s forecasting so peak becomes more seamless year after year.
Are you looking for extra support this peak season?
For expert advice on cross-border eCommerce fulfilment, carrier optimisation and global delivery strategies, get in touch with enquiries@mhi.co.
Or find out more about our eCommerce Delivery Solutions and what platforms we can integrate with here.
