For distributors, the holiday season is both the busiest and most stressful time of the year. Clients are counting on you to deliver meaningful gifts for employees, customers, and supporters — but the reality behind the scenes is often messy.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by holiday demand, you’re not alone. Here are five of the most common challenges distributors run into during the holidays, and some practical ways to approach them:
1. Tight Timelines and Last-Minute Orders
It’s almost guaranteed: a client will reach out late in the season with a “must-have” order. Traditional promo workflows can require weeks of lead time, leaving you in a tough spot when clients expect delivery before the holidays.
What to do: Eliminate the bottleneck by offering on-demand ordering with instant access to a full product catalog. Instead of curating a narrow mix in advance, give recipients the freedom to choose what they want from a pre-loaded storefront. This cuts down on planning time, reduces back-and-forth, and makes it possible to fulfill late-season requests without the usual stress.
2. Inventory Risk and Leftovers
Ordering in bulk always feels like a gamble. If you over-order, you’re left with excess stock that eats into profit. If you under-order, you disappoint clients and their recipients.
What to do: Where possible, avoid carrying inventory altogether. Offer programs that allow for individual orders, or give clients more visibility into how much their audience is likely to purchase before you commit.
3. Distribution Headaches
Bulk shipping means someone — often you or your client — is stuck sorting, packing, and delivering gifts. For larger organizations, this process can take days and requires staff hours that nobody has in December.
What to do: Look for ways to streamline distribution. That might mean using direct-to-recipient shipping, simplifying packaging, or working with partners who can take on fulfillment for you.
4. One-Size-Fits-All Gifting
Handing every employee the same sweatshirt or mug seems efficient, but it often leaves people with items they don’t want or can’t use. That’s wasted spend for clients, and it doesn’t reflect well on the brand.
What to do: Whenever possible, build in choice. Even a small amount of flexibility — letting recipients pick a size, a design, or a product category — dramatically improves satisfaction and keeps gifts out of storage closets or donation bins.
5. Proving Value After the Campaign
Once the gifts are delivered, the story often ends. Clients rarely have visibility into how well their holiday campaign performed, and distributors miss the chance to show measurable value.
What to do: Share results. Whether it’s participation numbers, dollars raised in a fundraiser, or feedback from recipients, providing data helps clients understand the impact. It also positions you as a partner who can help them plan for next year.
The Bottom Line
The holidays bring the same challenges every year: tight deadlines, inventory headaches, distribution hassles, and one-size-fits-all gifts that fall flat.
A Holiday Shop flips that script — and MOQ1 makes it simple to create one. With instant storefronts, on-demand production, and built-in reporting, distributors can turn a seasonal pain point into a growth opportunity.
👉 Get the free Holiday Shops Playbook and see how to launch smarter, easier campaigns this season.
