Managing Last-Minute Christmas Orders Without Melting Down

As the festive season approaches, many UK businesses brace themselves for a steep rise in orders. British consumers are forecast to spend 3.5% more at Christmas compared to 2024, with many planning to buy gifts and celebration items in the final weeks before December 25th.

At the same time, parcel networks are under enormous pressure. During last year’s peak trading period, one of the UK’s biggest couriers, Evri, delivered 173 million parcels over nine weeks, with its busiest day seeing nearly 3.8 million deliveries handled.

Businesses must be sharp and prepared if they want to deliver orders before Christmas.

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Keep tight control of your stocks

One of the biggest causes of customer dissatisfaction over the festive season is when a business sells something it actually doesn’t have. When that happens, you must cancel the order and refund the customer, and that’s not the only cost.

With shoppers already struggling to find gifts that will still arrive on time, a cancelled sale often forces them back into the market at the last minute, costing them time, money, and confidence in your brand.

Accurate stock tracking is essential. Investing in inventory management software such as Xero’s inventory tools can help you see:

• what’s in hand
• what’s on order
• what you’re likely to sell this month

Clear, real-time stock data keeps you from overselling popular items and gives customers confidence that what they order is something you can meet.

Make sure your couriers can meet delivery expectations

Part of managing last-minute orders is ensuring parcels reach customers when they expect them. Too often, packages get delayed or damaged because couriers take shortcuts.

Whether you run deliveries in-house or outsource them, set clear expectations with drivers:

• make real delivery attempts (ring the bell and wait)
• respect safe-place instructions with photos or notes
• aim to reduce missed deliveries altogether

Using GPS route planning can also help drivers tackle their day more efficiently. Tools like mapping apps with radar detector functionality can help couriers avoid unexpected slowdowns and hazards on the roads, improving delivery times and reliability, something your team and customers will appreciate.

If you’re using a third-party courier, vet them carefully before peak season. Remember, your brand’s reputation is tied to timely fulfilment.

Forecast what you actually need

Success over Christmas isn’t just about juggling orders as they come in; it’s about predicting them in advance. Forecasting helps you estimate what you need in stock and where potential bottlenecks might occur.

Look at sales data from previous seasons, current trends, and the days leading up to peak weeks, and adjust your purchasing accordingly.

Over-forecast and you’ll tie up capital in stock that won’t sell until the New Year.

Under-forecast and you risk running out of top sellers just when demand is highest.

Tools that allow you to set reorder alerts based on lead times and current sales rates can be invaluable at this time of year. Demand forecasting solutions and regular review cycles (daily or weekly through December) help you stay agile. With better insight, you can order smarter, keep customers satisfied, and reduce costly last-minute stock expedites and cancellations.

Managing last-minute Christmas orders requires preparation, good systems, and strong communication. Businesses need to be strategic about itso they can get orders out the door in time for Christmas, and keep their customers coming back next year too.