1. “ It’s the most
wonderful time
of the year.”
So goes one of the top holiday
songs of all time, and for
shoppers this may be true. But
retailers know November and
December is make-or-break
time, and there is intense
pressure to make the most
of this short, yet lucrative
sales window.
At Canada Post, we understand
how critical the holiday shopping
season is for our partners.
Each year we monitor our
e-commerce customers closely to
evaluate how their changes to
sales and shipping promotions,
deadlines and return policies
affect their shipping volumes
during the holidays.
This year, our analysis yielded
important findings that we
share in this Holiday Survival
Guide to help you convert
new customers, optimize sales
and build loyalty during your
peak season.
Holiday
Survival
Guide
2016

2. It’s all about Cyber Week
Cyber Week has become the official start
of the holiday shopping period and has
secured its position as the main event of
this peak retail season.
22% of 2015
holiday volumes
from monitored
merchants shipped
during Cyber Week.1
44% YOY
growth in Cyber
Week volumes from
2014 to 2015.1
To capitalize on the Cyber Week craze,
merchants offered a variety of sales
and shipping promotions to capture
the attention of online shoppers and
increase conversion.
Holiday to-do list
Display offers
prominently throughout
Cyber Week.
Pair sales and shipping
promotions, and offer
free shipping with
no restrictions during
Cyber Week.
What worked best?
When merchants combined a sales
promotion with a free-shipping-no-
restrictions offer they experienced the
greatest increase in holiday volumes.
2015 Cyber Week volumes increase1
61%
135%
 Sales promotion + free shipping with
minimum purchase
 Sales promotion + free shipping with
no restrictions
1. Canada Post Holiday Monitoring Research 2015.

3. Free is king
Here’s what you already know – online
shoppers expect a seamless end-to-end
shopping experience. That experience
is only amplified during the holiday
season. Offering shoppers a variety
of free options that use your entire
network is an important ingredient to
enhance their experience and drive new
customers to click the buy button.
Critical elements that drive
shoppers to complete their
online purchase.1
Fresh opportunities and
first impressions
Consider how many shoppers will
interact with your brand for the first time
throughout November and December.
Retailers acquire
between 29% and
59% more customers
during the holiday
months.2
Free shipping offers are a compelling
way to acquire these shoppers, secure
the sale and increase basket conversion.
But don’t stop there. Round out your
free offerings by providing convenient
options for free pickup and free returns
during the holidays. This will leave a
lasting impression that will increase loyal
customers year-round.
: Offer a variety of free options
Holiday to-do list
Extend free shipping
offers during key
holiday events.
Use your brick-and-
mortar network and
your partner’s to
extend free pickup
and returns options
to customers.
FREE
said free shipping
63%
said free returns to store
26%
FREE
said free in-store pickup
21%
FREE
1. 2016 Canadian Online Shopper Study, CPC16-202,
April 2016.
2. RJ Metrics 2016 Benchmark report series –
The Ecommerce Holiday Benchmark report.

4. Merchants keep pushing
deadlines
Every year, more and more e-commerce
merchants push their holiday shipping
deadlines later to capitalize on the
significant spending potential from
last-minute shoppers.
Average standard shipping
deadline in 2014 and 20151
December
18
24% of
merchants
had deadlines
after Dec. 18
in 2014.1
67% of
merchants
had deadlines
after Dec. 18
in 2015.1
What is the main driver behind
these later deadlines?
More sophisticated fulfillment practices.
Retailers are investing in their fulfillment
teams to ensure they have the resources
and training to handle one last spike in
the final days leading up to Christmas.
And it’s paying off. Last year, retailers that
extended their shipping deadlines after
December 18 saw incremental volume
increases just before Christmas Day.
Percentage of total holiday volumes1
D
ec.16
D
ec.17
D
ec.18
D
ec.19
D
ec.20
D
ec.21
D
ec.22
12%
8%
4%
0%
 Before
Dec. 18
 After
Dec. 18
Holiday to-do list
Focus on fulfillment:
• secure needed resources,
• train fulfillment staff.
Use Canada Post’s suite
of shipping services
to ensure your parcels
get delivered before
Christmas.
1. Canada Post Holiday Monitoring Research 2015.

5. A busy and successful holiday season
makes a good return strategy that much
more important.
Sound return policies and convenient
return processes have become critical
elements that drive the perfect online
shopping experience.
18%
of shoppers
abandoned their
purchase over
concerns about
the return policy.1
84%
of shoppers
said free return
shipping was a
critical element to
a perfect returns
experience.1
FREE
The return experience is even more
important during the holiday season,
when shoppers are buying gifts for loved
ones. The three-week surge in returns
after Christmas offers retailers a great
opportunity to cement the relationship
with their shoppers.
75% of merchants offered a
free return option.2
Many retailers have already recognized
that the return process is often the last
touch point within the online shopping
experience and have implemented
strategies to ensure they leave a great
last impression.
Holiday to-do list
Offer free return
shipping.
Offer convenient ways
to return items:
Ÿ in store,
Ÿ in a street letter box,
Ÿ at a post office.
It’s not over on December 26
1. 2016 Canadian Online Shopper Study, CPC16-202,
April 2016.
2. Canada Post Holiday Monitoring Research 2015.

6. Rely on your partners
Canada Post delivers the holidays
Weekend deliveries
Starting mid-November and
through to December, we
deliver parcels on weekends.
We also operate our parcel
processing 24/7 in major
facilities across the country.
Additional
transportation
During the holiday peak
season, we double our capacity
with national transportation
suppliers and increase our air
transport across the country.
Seasonal workers
We hire more than 3,000
seasonal workers to manage
the increase in holiday parcel
volumes – adding to our
existing 49,000 operational
employees.
Extended customer
service support
Customer Service is open five
days a week during the year,
7 am to 8 pm (ET) – and seven
days a week for some call
types. Starting mid-November,
we extend our holiday hours to
9 pm, seven days a week.
Bypass strategies
We direct incoming parcels to our
hubs and depots, expanding our
front of the line and dedicated
door service to help customers
avoid high volume areas and to
enable operational capacity.
Expert consultation
We continually invest in
initiatives to understand the
e-commerce market opportunity.
We work with our merchant
partners to equip them with
insights and best practices for
their success during the peak
season and beyond.
Enhanced delivery
options
Delivered Tonight
Receiving orders from last
minute shoppers? With
Canada Post’s Delivered Tonight
same-day delivery service, your
shoppers can order an item in
the morning and receive their
purchase that night.1
FlexDeliveryTM
Help shoppers keep gifts under
wraps. FlexDelivery lets online
shoppers select a preferred
post office for delivery to keep
gifts a surprise throughout the
entire holiday season.
Have them up today at
canadapost.ca/flexdelivery.
1. Delivered Tonight same-day delivery
service is available in Vancouver, Toronto
and Montréal.
SAT | SUN
?
i

7. 2016 Canada Post shipping deadlines
Delivery standards between most major centres in Canada
Expedited ParcelTM
XpresspostTM
PriorityTM
Local zone December 22 December 22 December 22
Regional zone December 20-221
December 221
December 221
National zone December 12-212
December 21 December 222
1. Exceptions apply in some areas.
2. Exact delivery standards exist for every origin-destination combination. Find out the specific delivery standard for your postal code to a Canadian destination at
canadapost.ca/deliverytool.
TM Trademark of Canada Post Corporation.

8. 2016 key dates
NOVEMBER
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23
Cyber Week
24 25 26
27 28 29 30
Weekend
delivery
begins1
Official peak
season start
date
Black
Friday
Cyber
Monday
1. Weekend delivery begins by major urban centre, dependent on volume.

9. 2016 key dates
DECEMBER
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25
Christmas Day
26
Boxing Day
27
Boxing Week
28 29 30 31
Average
merchant
shipping
deadline Canada Post
PriorityTM
deadline
Canada Post
XpresspostTM
deadline

10. Wrap up a
successful 2016
holiday season
To learn more about how you can maximize your
2016 holiday e-commerce strategy,
contact your Canada Post sales representative.