Peak season is fast approaching for eCommerce retailers, and with delivery playing such a critical role during this time, its efficiency will be a major determinant of overall success.
Here are five delivery management tips for retailers in preparation for peak.
Tip 1 - Diversify carriers to reduce delivery risk
Relying on a single carrier during peak is a major vulnerability. If any disruption strikes, the impact on customer experience and revenue can be severe. Retailers should alter carriers to to match product categories.
For example, fragile, high-value items may be better suited to signed or timed delivery options.
For retailers, peak season in 2025 will be more demanding than ever. Black Friday, Christmas, and seasonal promotions put enormous strain on fulfilment networks, while customers expect faster delivery, better tracking, and seamless communication.
At the same time, margins are under pressure from rising costs and unpredictable demand.
To stay ahead, retailers need to approach peak as an opportunity, not just a challenge. Here are 5 tips to master peak in 2025 and turn delivery into a real advantage.
Tip 2 - Use data to predict and prevent disruption
Every peak season generates valuable data. Analysing this data and finding patterns can help retailers forecast demand spikes, identify pressure points, and anticipate where things might go wrong.
For example, Scurri’s advanced reporting dashboards can help retailers spot exceptions before they escalate into issues.
Tip 3 - Strengthen post-purchase communications
Peak is about far more than just getting parcels out of a warehouse. It is often the post-purchase experience that keeps customers confident after they have hit ‘buy’.
Branded, real-time tracking updates reduce uncertainty, lower “where is my order?” queries, and show customers that you’re in control, even if issues arise.
Electronics customers in particular, want visibility. Electronic purchases are often investments. By offering branded updates via email, retailers are reinforcing their identity and strengthening loyalty at a critical moment in the customer journey.
4 - Enhance warehouse agility with smart fulfilment strategies
Concentrating all peak orders through a single distribution centre creates unnecessary risk. A warehouse bottleneck or regional carrier issue can quickly derail delivery promises at the most critical trading period of the year.
Retailers are increasingly adopting flexible fulfilment strategies to build resilience. This can include leveraging multiple distribution centres, partnering with 3PLs for overflow capacity, or exploring micro-fulfilment hubs located closer to high-density customer areas.
A decentralised fulfilment network reduces pressure on a single site, cuts delivery lead times, and provides a buffer if one node experiences delays.
5 - Evaluate delivery performance with centralised reporting
Earlier, we mentioned the importance of tracking carrier performance to monitor, predict and prevent disruption. This ongoing monitoring can help with tactical changes during peak.
However, it’s equally important to look at the bigger picture and monitor delivery performance of peak period as a whole.
Instead of only using reporting dashboards for daily tactical improvements, it’s best to monitor overall performance from a strategic point of view also. This is where having one centralised suite of reporting dashboards can become even more useful. Our reporting dashboards can help you gain insight into how your manifested shipment volume is trending over time, which will provide you with valuable insights as you evaluate your performance during peak as a whole.
Conclusion: Go beyond the short term surges
Mastering peak in 2025 goes beyond short-term order surges. It requires building resilience, efficiency, and customer trust into delivery management strategies that create lasting value for retailers all year round.
By diversifying carriers, leveraging data, enhancing post-purchase communications, strengthening fulfilment agility, and automating exception handling, retailers can approach peak with confidence while setting the foundation for sustainable growth in 2026 and beyond.