Avoid Black Friday Shipping Delays and High Shipping Costs in Canada

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner. That means retailers everywhere are preparing for the massive increase in volume of orders.

The pandemic and subsequent rise in online shopping behaviour has held steady this year (Ecommerce sales increased 32.4% in the U.S and 20.7% in Canada), so if you run an online store, you must be prepared with a shipping strategy.

Customers care about two things when it comes to shipping:

1. How much does it cost?
2. When will I receive my order?

Obviously, your priority is to ensure the best shopping experience possible. And while many eCommerce stores do offer free shipping and the option of express shipping, covering the cost of shipping behind the scenes can be tough.

With the help of a fulfillment agency like TransAction Heroes, you can make Black Friday shipping fulfillment cheaper and easier.

 Why Is Shipping So Expensive in Canada?

When you combine the size of our country with its low population density and the high cost of fuel, shipping costs really stack up. However, merchants should still offer low-cost, if not free, shipping for customers; research shows expensive shipping is the primary reason customers abandon their cart at checkout and 88% of customers are more likely to make a purchase if you offer free shipping.

With these clear advantages, you must find a way to overcome fulfillment challenges. Below are some of the ways an order fulfillment agency like TransAction Heroes can help.

Build a specific plan for express shipping

The first step in building a shipping strategy is finding out your deadline. What are the cut-off dates for Christmas deliveries this year? Which day of the week does Christmas fall on? Assume that deliveries might be compromised then.

We recommend offering 2-day air service in the final week before Christmas to help out customers doing last-minute shopping. In some cases, upgrading all shipments to express shipping in the week before Christmas can substantially reduce the risk of delayed packages and negative customer experiences.

Be very clear about the benefits your customers will receive if they opt for express shipping. For example, customers get little to no service benefit for the added cost of Express shipping if they’re shipping locally within their province. It doesn’t help your brand reputation to set high expectations and under-deliver on those expectations.

Choose the right packaging (including package protection)

Your shipping cost depends on the size and weight of your package. TransAction Heroes can help you minimize your packages’ dimensional weight to reduce shipping costs and be more environmentally friendly. When it comes to selecting protective packaging, we can help you find the best materials based on your packages’ specific sizing optimizations.

Treat experience as part of your offering

Receiving a package in the mail can be an exciting experience, and you want to make sure your products delight your customers when they arrive. Not only are your customers receiving the physical item(s) they purchased from your shop, they’re also receiving an experience of your business through the customer service and shipping processes. If you can put a smile on their face from beginning to end in their experience with you, you’ve done your job in ensuring their loyalty.

Avoid Black Friday Shipping Delays with Our Strategic Relationships with Major Mail Carriers

Always expect processing bottlenecks and shipping delays from major mail carriers like Canada Post, UPS, Purolator, Amazon, and FedEx during Back Friday. While shipping orders this year, also factor in delays due to changing Covid regulations, Covid outbreaks, or extreme weather conditions. Check your mail carrier’s website for updates on service interruptions and shipping guarantees. For example, international delivery guarantees are still suspended at some mail carriers.

At TransAction Heroes, we have strategic relationships with major mail carriers to proactively monitor situations with shipping and distribution centers.

We receive regular, on-the-ground information that helps us:

• Be instantly notified if a carrier is maxed out with shipping volumes
• Try to avoid shipment processing bottlenecks at distribution centers before they happen
• Arrange extra parcel pickups to ensure products are always moving (Our distribution center runs 24/7, so we can do pickups after regular work hours and on weekends)

There may be a whole host of ongoing pandemic- and weather-related events that could impact Black Friday shipping times, but a well-thought-out strategy goes a long way in mitigating delays and other service interruptions as they arise.

Streamline eCommerce Returns Process

Handling product returns is neither a fun process for ebusinesses or customers, but it’s important for you to have a plan. More than half of online shoppers will research your return policy before making a purchase, and 92% of customers will make a second purchase with you if returns are easy.

Roughly 30% of customers will return their purchase after the holidays. Note that mail carriers focus their resources on outbound traffic during the busy shopping season, so they will have a backlog of returns in their network. Expect them to be processing a higher-than-normal volume of returns during the first three weeks of January.

If you’re wondering HOW you’re going to manage returns in the new year, you’re in the right place. TransAction Heroes makes order fulfillment easy in either direction.

How we help you mail, pickup, and receive returns:

1. Any customer who wishes to make a return speaks directly to your store about initiating a return.
2. You receive from us a mailing label on our account. All you must do is send the label to your customer!
3. We receive the returned product at our distribution center and update you on the product’s successful delivery. Then we decide if the product should be remarketed, donated to charity, or recycled.

We understand that handling returns is the last thing you want to worry about after the post-Black Friday-Cyber-Monday madness. But it’s worthwhile to be prepared, since Black Friday can encourage impulse shopping or poorly selected gifts with all the incredible (and sometimes irresistible) discounts floating around. That’s why we make handling returns painless and hands-off for you. Our Heroes can pick up returns at any time to keep your workflow healthy.

Don’t Let the Largest Shopping Event of The Year Catch You Unprepared

One last tip about simplifying shipping for Black Friday: create a shipping policy outlining all information from shipping times, options, costs, and more (If you don’t have one, use free Shopify shipping templates here). Put this policy somewhere accessible on your website to minimize the amount of customer inquiries you’ll get. Ensure your staff—especially your customer care staff—are fully briefed during this period.



Online order fulfillment can be a long and stressful process, especially during this time of the year. Don’t let the never-ending to-do list of shipping fulfillment distract you at the expense of the other parts of running an online store.

At TransAction Heroes, we’re here to support eCommerce merchants just like you. We’re experienced in the entire order fulfillment process, from building a high-level fulfillment strategy to the front-line tasks like order pickup and delivery. We make order fulfillment easy, so you can focus on business.