Walmart has announced the deadline for Christmas deliveries this year. Consumers can place orders till Tuesday to ship gifts using the services of the US Postal Service, UPS, and FedEx. According to the announcement made by the company, December 19 is the last deadline for free two-day shipping. On the other hand, December 21 is the deadline for getting free next day delivery. The free delivery option is available only on eligible items.
Walmart Announces Shipping Deadlines For Christmas 2020
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, several retailers have issued deadlines a few days in advance when compared to the normal shipping deadlines during Christmas. This is due to the hurdles caused by the pandemic in the shipping process. As the companies want to avoid any sort of delivery delays, they have given an earlier than usual deadline for Christmas.
The company executives said that they had added thousands of items for contactless pickup and delivery. Using the Walmart app, customers can now add gift items ranging from toys to apparel to the regular grocery orders. In order to get free delivery services, a minimum order of $35 is needed. If you are planning for curbside and Express delivery, you need to check with the local stores for the availability of such options.
The retailers are worried about shipping delays as several shipping companies are busy with shipping the covid-19 vaccines to different regions of the country. As this would be given the highest priority by the Federal Agencies and the shipping companies, there may be some delays in the deliveries of regular items during the Christmas season.
Experts suggest that it is better to buy gifts earlier so that shipping companies will have enough time to deal with your orders during the holiday season. On the other hand, when you want to buy some gift items at the last minute, you will have to pick up the orders yourself from the nearest stores. In any case, it is always a good idea to avoid visiting the stores during the holiday season due to the risk of the pandemic.
The best option in this situation is to order the products online early enough so that you can get the gifts a few days in advance before Christmas. If you are planning to send gifts to your friends and family members, you can order them right now so that there would be no delays in shipping your gifts to your loved ones.
Walmart has said that they are trying to include more online delivery options, and customers can check them out with the local stores. They have now made provisions to include gifts into the regular grocery orders so that shipping delays can be avoided during the Christmas season.
Other retailers like Target have also extended the store hours for holiday shopping. Customers can make use of this opportunity and shop for their favorite gifts a week ahead of Christmas. This is a good way to avoid the last-minute rush and stay safe during the holiday season. Most retailers have fixed deadlines for Christmas shipping, and you have to calculate them carefully before ordering gifts for your loved ones. Given the pandemic situation, it is a good idea to order gifts in advance to avoid any sort of delays during Christmas.
Even though Walmart has offered free delivery options on various items, you need to understand that all the gifts are not included in this category. Make sure to cross-check them before ordering gifts in bulk so that you do not face delivery issues in the future.
Walmart has also made provisions for store pick up during the Christmas season. This is a comfortable option as you need not enter the stores to get your favorite items. You can order them online, and they would be kept ready for pickup by the store employees. Once you get the message that your parcel is ready for pickup, you can visit the stores and get the package without going inside the retail outlets.