2017 Holiday Shipping By the Numbers

The famous 2013 Holiday Shipping Nightmare still haunts retailers, e-commerce outlets, and transportation companies alike. FedEx, USPS, Amazon, and countless retailers were affected, leaving Santa holding the bag. That year there were six fewer days between Turkey Day and Christmas, a record number of e-commerce sales, and terrible weather. It was a perfect storm for shipping companies that resulted in millions of countless delays and frustrated customers.

Ever since there has been a lot of pressure on transportation companies and expedited freight carriers heading into the holiday shipping season. Despite this, the average person's definition of "fast shipping" is shrinking. In 2015, 63% of consumers described 3-4 days as fast shipping; just 42% said the same in 2016, according to a recent Deloitte study.

While technology and capacity have improved since then, e-commerce sales are still rising faster than many freight carriers can cope with. In 2016, holiday shipping hit record levels, and the same thing will inevitably happen again during the 2017 holiday shipping season. According to the Wall Street Journal, last year UPS and FedEx suspended delivery guarantees for certain weeks and regions leading up to Christmas as on-time delivery rates fell.

Want to get ahead of the 2017 holiday shipping season? From 2017 Christmas shipping deadlines to the latest e-commerce sales figures, here's our visual guide to 2017 holiday shipping by the numbers:

2017 Holiday Shipping Deadlines:

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, or any other winter holiday, remember these 2017 holiday shipping deadlines! If you want your package delivered somewhere in the contiguous United States by December 25, get it in the mail by December 14. For express shipping, December 22 is the final deadline!

E-Commerce Places New Demands on Holiday Shipping and Expedited Freight Carriers:

Many parcel carriers are struggling to keep up with e-commerce. In 2016, e-commerce accounted for 25% of Black Friday sales, up from 18% in 2015. On top of that, this year 69% of Americans went shopping over Thanksgiving weekend. In total, about 115 million shops on Black Friday and 78 million shops on Cyber Monday.

During the 2017 holiday season, USPS alone will ship an incredible 15 billion pieces of mail.