Peak season stress? Switch fulfilment providers to save your holiday sales

Peak season... that magical time of year when retail dreams are made, and nightmares often unfold. Your shelves (virtual and literal) are stocked, your marketing campaigns are live, and you’re bracing yourself for the chaos that is about to descend. The stakes are high and if your fulfilment provider can’t keep up, you’re one out-of-stock notification away from holiday horror. 

And while the figures showed that Black Friday got off to a slow start, if you haven’t got everything in order yet, don’t panic - there’s still time to turn things around.

Switching fulfilment providers during peak season might sound as risky as using the Coca Cola holiday song at the start of this article (trademark pending), but it could actually save your sales, your sanity, and your reputation. Here’s how making the leap could transform your peak season from stressful to successful.

The problem with peak: When your current provider isn’t giving you the real thing 

Peak season is peak (as the kids say). The increased volume of orders, tighter delivery windows, and sky-high customer expectations mean everything has to run like clockwork. Yet, the cracks in your operations often show when your fulfilment provider fails to deliver (pun intended).

Peak season by numbers:

• Online sales surge by over 50% during peak periods like Black Friday and Christmas, according to IMRG data
• A shocking 73% of customers won’t return to a retailer after a bad delivery experience
• Last year, UK retailers experienced a 7.3% increase in Black Friday sales, reaching a whopping £13.3bn. Could we see the same this year?

Don’t fancy missing out on a slice of that tasty profit pie? If your provider is leaving you with a flat Coke instead of the fizzy festive joy you need, it might be time to consider a switch.

How to spot a provider who’s not the real thing:

• Delays on repeat - If your parcels take longer to arrive than Santa’s sleigh after a detour, it’s time to rethink
• Technical meltdowns - Outdated systems crashing when you need them most
• Radio silence - Customer service that ghosts you faster than Ebeneezer Scrooge ghosts Bob Cratchit on pay day
• Scalability struggles - Can’t ramp up when demand spikes, leaving you with a backlog bigger than Santa’s naughty or nice list. Not very nice at all, lumps of coal all round.

Switching providers: A refreshingly simple move

Switching fulfilment providers mid-peak might sound like a Christmas miracle, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right partner (ahem, hi), it’s a lot easier than you think.

You’re not stuck with what you’ve got - you deserve better. Switching to a provider like fulfilmentcrowd can refresh your operations in record time, ensuring that your business sparkles like the Coca-Cola truck rolling into town (look, we’ve picked a theme for this article and we’re going with it, buckle up).

How fulfilmentcrowd turns peak problems into festive wins

We know the stakes are higher than a treetop star during peak season. Here’s how we ensure your festive fulfilment is more 'Holidays Are Coming' than 'Jingle All the Way' (and if you don’t know that classic Arnie film, get it know):

Why switching could be your best gift this year

Retailers who make the leap often see benefits faster than a Christmas Eve delivery.

Holidays are coming... but it’s not too late to get peak-ready

Even if you’re already knee-deep in peak season chaos, it’s not too late to save your sales and protect your reputation. Switching fulfilment providers might just be the gift your business needs.