Guide
Holiday delivery and pickup capacity planning, BFCM to Christmas Eve
Plan holiday capacity weeks ahead: set a limit for each delivery and pickup slot and each day at every location, add early slots, close same-day ordering on your busiest dates and block the days you're closed.
The Shopify rule
What Shopify says.
“select a processing time for in-store pickup from the drop-down menu”
The built-in way
Do it with Shopify's own settings first.
Lengthen the pickup processing time for peak weeks
Shopify's pickup uses one processing time per location, chosen from a drop-down. Before your busiest week, switch to a longer option so customers expect later pickups, and add holiday hours to your pickup instructions.
Narrow delivery zones or raise minimums
Shopify's local delivery has zones, delivery prices and minimum orders, but no per-day or per-slot order limit (verified Sep 26, 2026). For peak week, shrink the radius or remove far postal codes, or raise a zone's minimum order price.
Turn delivery off on days you can't cover
There's no automatic cutoff when a day fills, so someone has to watch orders and turn local delivery off for a location when it's full, then back on when capacity frees up.
Publish your last order dates
Put your last-order dates for each holiday in an announcement bar, on product pages and in your pickup instructions, so customers know before they reach checkout.
With ScrollEngine
Do this in ScrollEngine
7 days free, then billed through Shopify
Set a capacity for every slot and day
Set a capacity for each slot and day, per location; you see remaining capacity as orders book.
Add holiday slots and earlier cutoffs
Add extra slots for your peak days, set an earlier same-day cutoff and longer prep time for the busiest dates, and apply them per location in its own time zone.
Block the days you're closed
Add blackout dates and holiday hours for each location, so customers are only offered days and slots you're open.
Prepare and route from what's booked
The preparation planner shows every order by day, slot and location, and delivery routes are planned from the slots customers booked.
On this page
Key dates for the 2026–27 season (US)
- Thanksgiving: Thursday, Nov 26, 2026
- Black Friday: Friday, Nov 27, 2026
- Cyber Monday: Monday, Nov 30, 2026
- Christmas Eve: Thursday, Dec 24, 2026
- Christmas Day: Friday, Dec 25, 2026 (if you're closed, add it as a blackout date)
- New Year's Eve: Thursday, Dec 31, 2026
- Valentine's Day: Sunday, Feb 14, 2027
- Mother's Day: Sunday, May 9, 2027
Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday in 2027. If you don't deliver on Sundays, plan Saturday, Feb 13, as your peak delivery day and set its slots well ahead.
How to size a slot
Size each slot from the work it creates, not from last year's orders alone:
- Delivery slots: drivers working the slot × stops each driver can make per hour × the slot's length in hours.
- Pickup slots: orders your team can pack and hand over in the slot, with time for walk-in customers at the same counter.
- Keep a buffer for re-deliveries, address problems and late changes, and set what's left as the slot's capacity.
Worked example with invented inputs: 3 drivers × 6 stops an hour × a 2-hour slot = 36 stops. Keep 4 back as a buffer and set the slot's capacity to 32.
A holiday timeline
- Six weeks out: enter every holiday and closure as a blackout date or holiday hours, per location. Decide your peak days.
- Four weeks out: add extra slots for peak days, set earlier cutoffs and longer prep times for them, and publish your last order dates.
- Two weeks out: confirm drivers, shifts and vehicles for each peak day, and run a test order through each location.
- Peak week: watch remaining capacity each morning and adjust slots before customers book, not after.
- After the season: compare booked and delivered orders by slot, and note what to change for next year.
FAQ
Common questions.
Start from what one slot can really handle: the stops your drivers can make in the slot, or the orders your team can pack for a pickup window. Keep a buffer for re-deliveries and late changes, set that number as the slot's capacity, and review it after your opening peak weekend.
Work back from your last delivery day: subtract your prep time and one day of buffer for your busiest items. If you deliver on Thursday, Dec 24, 2026, a last order date early that week gives you room for late changes.
Not in the built-in local delivery or pickup settings. The Help Center pages describe zones, prices and a pickup processing time, with no per-day or per-slot order limit (verified Sep 26, 2026). A delivery and pickup app adds slot capacity.
Often, yes. On your two or three busiest days, an earlier cutoff or no same-day slots protects the orders you've already promised. Keep same-day open on quieter days before and after.
7 days free, then billed through Shopify
Start free trial (opens the Shopify App Store)Try it on your own store before you pay.
Install from the Shopify App Store and start a 7 (as of Sep 2026)-day free trial: set up a location, open your slots and run a test order. Running 4 or more locations? Book a demo and we'll map your setup with you.
7 days free, then billed through Shopify
Running 4+ locations? Book a demo2,000+ merchants trust us (as of Oct 2026)100+ merchants rate us 5.0 stars on the Shopify App Store (as of Sep 2026)