UPS is going on strike?!

Here’s three things ecommerce merchants should do to prepare for it.

Important
As of July 26, 2023, UPS has reached a deal with the Teamsters union. The union must vote in full, but it's almost guaranteed to pass, averting the strike.

UPS’s employees are quite likely to go on strike on August 1st. This means the majority of UPS operations will shut down. Considering UPS ships 24 million packages daily (about 6% of the nation’s gross domestic product), the consequences will be catastrophic. The good news is both UPS and its employees are highly motivated to avoid this situation.

Regardless of our hoping for good news, it is critical to take this seriously. Customers see this news every day. This could affect customers’ purchasing decisions—which affects your revenue. And, even if you utilize a different carrier like FedEx or USPS, it is unlikely that they will be able to handle shipments without delays, either.

This article isn’t focused on the strike itself. If you wish to catch up on the latest, here are some news stories:

Fox Business, UPS contract talks with Teamsters union near deadline, deal could hike company's costs
The Hill, UPS strike imminent? Here’s what you should know
The Guardian, ‘They’re fired up’: Teamsters president on looming UPS strike

Getting down to the brass tacks, our responsibility is to ensure business continuity through seismic events like a UPS strike.

Consider pre-emptive action
If UPS goes on strike on August 1, there is a window of packages that may take days extra to arrive. Consider providing customers the opportunity to select a different carrier before August 1.

1. Review shipping plans

You probably have an entire plan built around shipping rates. What’s the threshold for free shipping? What is your markup? What time in transit do you publish? This is all about to change.

Using a different carrier, like USPS or FedEx, will change your rates. Delivery times will change even more as virtually every other merchant prepares to move. Even if you primarily ship through a non-UPS carrier, your delivery times are almost guaranteed to be lengthened.

Configure your new carriers

If you need another carrier, get this configured soon in your shipping system. Test it as soon as possible.

If you use BigCommerce, this is as simple as logging into ShipperHQ (included with the Enterprise). If you use Adobe Commerce, you must configure FedEx or USPS credentials. This might be an ideal time to offload this processing to a 3rd-party system, like ShipperHQ.

The good news is if you use a system like ShipStation to fulfill orders, you won’t have to change much of your process. Simply select another carrier.

On another note, test the fulfillment process with your new carriers. Depending on your store's customization level, it’s conceivable that post-fulfillment functionality could be broken.

Buy Online, Pickup In-Store (BOPIS)?
We are past the COVID days when we needed a way to offer customers to pick up goods at a close location to them. However, if you are a regionally-based brand, configuring a BOPIS option will provide an alternative route for delivery. Tools like Roadie provide easy and reasonably cost-effective alternatives to local shipping.

Free shipping

FedEx tends to be the most costly of the significant shipping trio. Instead of axing free shipping, consider increasing the threshold to a number that makes sense given the higher rates. This ensures your customers have a target to achieve when purchasing and keeps your profitability in mind.

Ideally, give the customer an option

Knowledge is power, and customers like both.

If your checkout shows delivery times (and it should), your customers should be able to make an informed decision. Do they want to pay more for a faster delivery (likely FedEx) or less for a slower delivery (likely USPS)?

2. Provide clear communication about potential shipping delays.

Even though the UPS strike is national news, this doesn’t mean everybody knows (or cares). But, they will care when their package is indefinitely delayed.

You can get ahead of this by putting a banner on your website:

Orders shipped by UPS may be delayed starting August 1. Alternative options will be provided at checkout.

Adding this message is quite simple in both Adobe Commerce or BigCommerce.

BigCommerce

Create a new banner by navigating to Marketing > Banners. Enter your text and select relevant pages. If you wish to change the background color, navigate to Channels > [select your channel] > Edit Theme > Styles (color palette indicator) > Global > Banner background.

Adobe Commerce

Navigate to Content > Blocks and create a new block. Add the text into this CMS Block. Next, navigate to Content > Widget to create a new widget. Use these configurations:

Display on All Pages
Container: After Page Header

Note: as of Adobe Commerce 2.4.6, there is no out-of-the-box way to add a banner to the top of the page.

Test this in a staging environment, as you might need to tweak the styles.

If you're having a hard time with Adobe Commerce (it's too "buggy", it's too expensive, etc.) and are interested in exploring a new platform, we have just the thing for you. We have created a 180-page ebook with information on how to migrate to BigCommerce. Check it out.

Update your shipping policy

Many brands have a shipping policy to outline how customers will receive their merchandise. This often includes fulfillment times, costs, delivery options, etc. If you don’t have a shipping policy, here’s a good link to get you started.

It’s critical to communicate to your customers that while UPS is an unknown, you are providing more known options (although they will likely be delayed).

3. Add messaging at the decision point (checkout).

This one is the most complicated yet arguably crucial of all our suggestions.

When customers are at the checkout, they might not be thinking about these delays. Instead, they are focused on entering their information to continue their daily activities. It is only after a strike happens will your customers be concerned about the status of their package.

Do you present time in transit? Consider changing this to indicate a time in transit.

We recommend adding a message near the shipping method selection box stating:

A Certified BigCommerce Partner agency, such as SwiftOtter, can help you implement this feature. The messaging is designed to inform customers in advance so they can make informed decisions before the shipment is significantly delayed.

Customers will have time to see this and respond accordingly. This will reduce customer service problems down the road resulting in happier customers.

In summary

Make sure you have configured and tested other shipping options end-to-end. This will avoid an internal disaster should the strike happen on August 1.
Message the customer about this and provide other options to prevent their package from getting stuck in transit.
Add a note in the checkout to ensure this is still top of mind. Your customer may pay a little extra for a more timely delivery.