Overview

The holiday season brings a significant surge in customer orders, making it one of the most critical — and challenging — periods for Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) participants. Amazon sets specific performance benchmarks and relaxed speed thresholds during the holidays, but sellers must still meet strict delivery, tracking, and cancellation standards to maintain their SFP eligibility. Proper planning around inventory, staffing, carrier coordination, and shipping templates can mean the difference between a profitable holiday season and a suspended Prime badge.

Key Points / What Sellers Need to Know

• Holiday speed thresholds are temporarily relaxed — During the holiday window (typically late November through early January), Amazon reduces the minimum percentage of detail page views that must meet one-day and two-day delivery speed targets, acknowledging the logistical challenges of peak season.
• Core performance metrics remain strict — On-time delivery must stay at 93.5% or higher, valid tracking scans are required on 99% or more of packages, and cancellation rates must remain at or below 0.5%.
• Daily order limits are your safety valve — Sellers should set their daily order limit to a volume they can reliably fulfill, protecting against unexpected surges that could tank performance metrics.
• Offer disabling takes effect immediately — If weather, equipment failures, or staffing shortages threaten your ability to fulfill orders on time, you can disable SFP offers instantly to prevent further damage to your metrics.
• Carrier coordination is essential — Sellers must confirm in advance that their carriers have the capacity to handle increased holiday volume and can provide same-day pickup scans.

Holiday Season Speed Requirements

Amazon adjusts its SFP speed requirements during the holiday period to account for the realities of peak-season logistics — higher package volumes, weather disruptions, and strained carrier networks. For standard-size items, the one-day delivery threshold drops from 30% to 20%, and the two-day threshold eases from 70% to 45% of featured detail page views. Oversize items see similar reductions, with the two-day requirement lowering from 45% to 30%. Extra-large items maintain a flat 15% threshold for two-day delivery year-round. These relaxed targets give sellers more breathing room, but they are still enforced — falling below even the reduced thresholds puts your SFP eligibility at risk.