UPS Will Deliver Packages On Saturdays

Largely due to demand from online retailers and shoppers, Saturday delivery for UPS has already rolled out in some markets, and should reach half of the U.S. market this year. While previously UPS’s Saturday options had been limited to certain airborne and express parcels, competitors USPS and FedEx have offered wider Saturday (and Sunday) delivery options for some time.

If you ship via UPS or have been considering including UPS in your shipping options, you should be aware of how this change could impact your e-commerce business.

• Saturday shipping for UPS includes pickup and sorting. That means your parcels can be processed a day or two ahead of what you’ve been used to, and your customers could receive packages you ship via UPS on Saturday as early as Monday. This change could prove especially significant as Saturday shipping expands in time for the hectic holiday season.
• Shipping costs could rise. Expanding to Saturday delivery will reportedly add 6,000 jobs and $100-$200 million to UPS’s operating costs, and rates for some UPS services have gone up as of March 1.
• Drone delivery may expand. UPS has been testing delivery via truck-launched drone, including the new Saturday service. Although legal drone deliveries are years away from being regulated, test runs with customers on more rural routes – where drones have more space in which to operate – are helping to refine this method for more widespread use.
• Saturday Stop Charges have increased. Effective May 1, certain UPS delivery areas are subject to a Saturday Stop Charge, depending on level of UPS service requested. For example, scheduled stops for UPS Smart Pickup requests will double in price from $3 to $6.
• Your profits could go up. Because many online shoppers abandon carts after viewing shipping rates for pricier overnight and next-day options, a faster but lower-cost ground option like UPS’s Saturday delivery may spur them to hit “submit order” more often, if UPS is a service you choose to offer.

The Bottom Line
Although Saturday delivery isn’t new in terms of carrier offerings, adding it to UPS’s standard set of services gives e-commerce sellers another option for speedier shipments.