’Tis the season once more when we find ourselves amidst the holiday shipping frenzy! Although the peak season seems to start earlier each year, the ultimate goal remains the same: delivering gifts by December 25.
Fulfilling shipping expectations plays a pivotal role in enhancing customer satisfaction and fostering loyalty. It’s important to keep in mind that customers may not be aware of these crucial deadlines, so it’s up to your business to proactively communicate delivery shipping cutoffs on your online store. By prominently displaying these dates, you can keep customers well informed and prevent any potential negative reviews or returns caused by delayed packages.
To help you prepare, we’ve compiled the most up-to-date information on 2023 holiday shipping deadlines for carriers available through Shopify Shipping.
United States
USPS
Here are the recommended last days to ship for December 23 delivery with USPS:
USPS® holiday shipping deadlines for contiguous US (lower 48 states)
USPS Ground Advantage™: Saturday, December 16
First-Class® Mail: Saturday, December 16
Priority Mail®: Monday, December 18
Priority Mail Express®: Wednesday, December 20
USPS® holiday shipping deadlines for Alaska and Hawaii
USPS Ground Advantage™: Saturday, December 16
First-Class® Mail: Saturday, December 16
Priority Mail®: Monday, December 18 (Alaska), Saturday, December 16 (Hawaii)
Priority Mail Express®: Wednesday, December 20
USPS® holiday shipping deadlines for international mail
|
Destination |
First-Class Package International Service |
Priority Mail International Service |
Priority Mail Express International Service |
Global Express Guaranteed Service |
|
Africa |
Nov. 29 |
Nov. 29 |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 15 |
|
Asia/Pacific Rim |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 13 |
Dec. 15 |
|
Australia/New Zealand |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 13 |
Dec. 15 |
|
Canada |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 13 |
Dec. 15 |
|
Caribbean |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 13 |
Dec. 15 |
|
Central & South America |
Nov. 29 |
Nov. 29 |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 15 |
|
Europe |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 13 |
Dec. 15 |
|
Mexico |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 13 |
Dec. 15 |
|
Middle East |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 6 |
Dec. 13 |
Dec. 15 |
To learn more, read USPS’ announcement.
UPS
Here are the recommended last days to ship for December 23 delivery with UPS:
US domestic
UPS® ground shipping: Check ups.com/ctc for details
UPS 3 Day Select®: December 19
UPS 2nd Day Air® services: December 20 (December 21 with Saturday delivery options)
UPS Next Day Air® services: December 21 (December 22 with Saturday delivery options)
US to Canada and Mexico
UPS® Standard services (from the 48 contiguous states only): Check ups.com/ctc for details
UPS Worldwide Expedited®: December 19
UPS Worldwide Express® services: December 20
US to other destinations
For last days to ship from the US to other international destinations, please calculate time and cost at ups.com/ctc.
✏️Certain destinations may require an earlier ship date. Check ups.com/ctc for details.
DHL Express
Pick up and deliver DHL Express services will operate until 4:30 p.m. on December 24, 2023. Here's the important DHL Express deadline you need to be aware of for delivery on or before that date:
DHL Express Worldwide: December 22 (transit time 1–2 days). This applies to all Worldwide supported destinations.
DHLeCommerce (this service is available only for merchants on Shopify Markets Pro):
|
DHL eCommerce Parcel International Direct—SMB (OLT) - Duty Delivery Paid This service includes a USPS pick-up or drop off in the USA and requires no minimum volume. Please note those deadlines below are country averages. Depending how rural buyers destinations are, we recommend adding 2-3 business additional days or suggesting buyers at checkout to select an Express method to meet an imperative date. |
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Australia: Nov. 28 |
|
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Canada: Dec. 6 |
|
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France: Dec. 8 |
|
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Germany: Dec. 5 |
|
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Hong Kong: Nov. 28 |
|
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Ireland: Dec. 5 |
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Israel: Dec. 5 |
|
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Italy: Dec. 4 |
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Netherlands: Dec. 5 |
|
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New Zealand: Nov. 28 |
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Rest of EU*: Dec. 1 |
|
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Singapore: Nov. 28 |
|
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South Korea: Dec. 4 |
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Spain: Dec. 4 |
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United Kingdom: Dec. 11 |
*Rest of EU: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden.
|
DHL eCommerce Parcel International Standard—SMB (OLY) - Duty Delivery Unpaid This DDU service is not being used as default on Markets Pro and only here FYI in case you happen to have DDU labels. Please refer mainly to the table above for your DHLeCommerce Markets Pro packages. |
|
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African countries: Nov. 3 |
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Australia: Nov. 27 |
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Brazil: Nov. 10 |
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Canada: Dec. 4 |
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Eastern Europe: Nov. 28 |
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France: Dec. 1 |
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Germany: Dec. 4 |
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Hong Kong: Nov. 27 |
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Israel: Nov. 27 |
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Japan: Dec. 1 |
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Mexico: Nov. 7 |
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New Zealand: Nov. 27 |
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Rest of Asia: Nov. 24 |
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Rest of Latin America: Nov. 7 |
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Thailand: Nov. 28 |
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United Kingdom: Dec. 8 |
|
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Western Europe: Nov. 28 |
Canada
Canada Post
Below are the most up-to-date shipping deadlines to guarantee your customers receive their orders before December 24:
| Priority™ | Xpresspost™ | Expedited Parcel™ or Flat Rate Box™ | Regular Parcel™ | |
| Local zone | Dec. 21 | Dec. 21 | Dec. 20 | Dec. 19 |
| Regional zone | Dec. 21 | Dec. 21 | Dec. 18–20 | Dec. 14–19 |
| National zone | Dec. 20 | Dec. 20 | Dec. 12–19 | Dec. 8–18 |
View dates they recommend sending your holiday packages and cards by to ensure they arrive in the U.S.A. and other international destinations on time.
You can use Canada Post’s online delivery standard tool to find the expected delivery times between Canadian addresses.
UPS
Below are the recommended last days to ship for a December 23 delivery with UPS in Canada:
Canada Domestic
UPS® Standard: Check ups.com/ca for details
UPS Expedited®: December 20
UPS Express®: December 21 (December 22 with Saturday Express delivery options)
Canada to the US
UPS® Standard: Check ups.com/ca for details
UPS 3 Day Select®: December 19
UPS Expedited®: December 20
UPS Express®: December 21
Canada to other destinations
For last days to ship from Canada to other international destinations, please calculate time and cost at ups.com/ca.
✏️Certain destinations may require an earlier ship date. Check ups.com/ca for details.
Australia
Sendle
Below are the latest dates to send orders to arrive at your customer’s doorstep before Christmas Day:
Domestic
Long-haul National: December 5
Short-haul National: December 14
Same City: December 19
Sendle Express
Long-haul National: December 18
Short-haul National: December 19
Same City: December 20
International:
Zone 2 & 5 (Asia Pacific and rest of world): November 30
Zone 3 (US/Canada): December 6
Zone 1 & 4 (NZ & UK): December 13
United Kingdom
DPD: December 21
Evri:
- Last day for courier collections: December 19
- Standard delivery from a ParcelShop or Evri Locker by 11 a.m.: December 20
- Next Day delivery from a ParcelShop or Evri Locker by 11a.m.: December 21
France
Here are key delivery deadlines for carriers to deliver your products by December 23:
Colissimo: December 20
Chronopost: December 22
Mondial Relay:
- At PUDO: up to and including December 19
- In agencies: up to and including December 20
- In hubs: up to and including December 21
- In hubs with MR Express: up to and including December 22
Italy
Poste Italiane - learn more about key dates here!
Spain
There are no holiday shipping cut-off deadlines to ship with Correos in Spain.
Stay tuned for more updates on this page as we receive them from our trusted carriers. In the meantime, if you're seeking to enhance your shipping and fulfillment experience for the holiday season, check out our article on 5 Reasons to Ship and Fulfill with Shopify This Holiday Season. Happy holidays and happy shipping!
Feature image by Midjourney
