Online sellers should be aware that winter weather and the Super Bowl are set to impact ecommerce deliveries in some parts of the country.
Extreme cold is spreading south and east bringing dangerous conditions to many areas. UPS didn’t deliver to parts of Iowa and Michigan on Tuesday because of severe winter weather.
Meanwhile the US Postal Service is suspending delivery on Wednesday in Eastern, Great Lakes, and Western Areas “due to the forecasted artic temperatures.” That includes parts of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, the Dakotas, and Nebraska.
FedEx is looking ahead to the big game on February 3, issuing an alert to notify shippers of possible disruptions in parts of Atlanta during the Super Bowl:
“FedEx will be operating in the Atlanta metro area during Super Bowl LIII festivities from January 26 – February 3, 2019. Some customers in the Atlanta area may experience service delays or disruptions during this time because of government security measures in place for Super Bowl LIII. We encourage all customers shipping into the area to check with your recipients to understand their locations relative to the security zones. We encourage Atlanta area customers to track packages on fedex.com or by calling 1-800-GO-FEDEX. We have implemented contingency plans and our teams will minimize delays to the fullest extent possible.”
Frigid temperatures may not sound as dramatic as other types of weather problems, but they can be lethal. Stay warm, and do your best to manage buyer expectations.
Update 1/29/19: eBay posted an announcement about the storm impacting the Midwest.
Update 2/1/19: The USPS issued an alert this morning: “All Offices Impacted by Arctic Temperatures Have Resumed Normal Operations (Eastern, Great Lakes, and Western Areas): All offices impacted from the arctic temperatures have resumed normal operations.”
