BACKAs Black Friday, Christmas, and New Year’s approach, AU and U.S. online retailers brace for a surge in demand. In 2024, U.S. shoppers spent a record $41.1 billion during Cyber 5 – an 8.2% increase over the previous year, driven by new highs in Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday sales. Meanwhile, in Australia, consumers poured around AU$6.7 billion into Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, a strong 5.5% rise from 2023.
Demand spikes like these expose a critical weakness: most operations struggle to expand fast enough. Backlogs mount, support teams buckle, and orders slip through the cracks, an untenable risk when customer experience and brand trust are on the line. What businesses need in these moments is a dedicated, flexible team ready to absorb the pressure and keep operations steady.
That’s why an increasing number of AU and U.S. businesses are turning to Vietnam-based offshore teams, bringing agility, scalability, and reinforcement exactly when they’re needed most, transforming peak season from chaos into control.
Table of contents
The seasonal demand spike problem
Retail across Australia and the United States has steadily expanded, with eCommerce driving much of that momentum. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year’s shopping have become cultural revenue anchors, not just promotions.
But while annual growth across the rest of the year may feel steady, the holiday weeks bring an intense spike in demand. Systems, supply chains, and teams already operating near capacity get stretched past the breaking point.
What might look like a windfall on the surface can reveal common bottlenecks:
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Inventory mismanagement:
Seasonal surges expose forecasting flaws. Some businesses overstock, tying up capital, while others run out too fast, disappointing customers. A January 2024 report found many U.S. online retailers ended the year with 10–15% more inventory than the previous year, adding pressure on storage and cash flow.
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Fulfillment delays:
The supply chain is pushed to its limits, from warehousing through to last-mile distribution. Even small disruptions cascade into significant delays, jeopardizing customer expectations during a period when punctuality matters most.
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Staffing pressures:
Seasonal hires offer temporary relief but often can’t match rising demand. Core teams end up managing heavier workloads while training short-term recruits. A recent supply-chain survey found 65% of leaders still faced major staff shortages during peak periods, highlighting the fragility of this approach.
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Customer service backlog:
Contact centers become inundated with queries, from order tracking to returns. Response times lengthen, frustration rises, and in a competitive environment, customers often switch loyalties after a single poor interaction.
The cost of poor peak performance
When systems falter and teams buckle under volume spikes, the consequences extend far beyond temporary chaos. Lost sales, negative reviews, and customer churn all follow, with 85% of online shoppers saying that a poor delivery experience would prevent them from ordering from that online retailer again
A January 2025 survey revealed a stark gap between plans and reality: 93% of supply chain leaders expected to meet demand, yet 58% struggled with delivery timing, 65% faced staffing shortages, and nearly half saw systems fail under peak loads. These gaps don’t just disrupt operations, they erode reputation, drive up costs, and push customers away.
Leveraging an offshore team can help alleviate these pressures, providing scalable support to maintain performance and keep operations running smoothly during peak periods.
Why outsourcing is a game-changer
1. How outsourced teams can drive flexibility
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Handle overflow orders
During peak seasons, sudden demand can overwhelm in-house teams. Outsourcing for Retail and eCommerce provides the scalability to absorb overflow orders without sacrificing speed or quality. External partners function as an agile extension of your workforce, keeping fulfillment running smoothly and ensuring no opportunity is lost simply because internal capacity has reached its limit.
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Provide 24/7 coverage across time zones
Global business never sleeps, and outsourcing makes round-the-clock support possible. By leveraging teams across different time zones, companies can maintain uninterrupted operations, enhance customer service, and drive consistent progress.
Roles such as customer service representatives, help desk support, and sales support ensure that clients and customers receive seamless assistance at any hour, strengthening both trust and satisfaction.
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Reduce pressure on core staff
When external teams take on time-sensitive or routine tasks, internal staff are free to focus on higher-value initiatives. This balance prevents burnout, boosts morale, and allows your core employees to dedicate their expertise to strategy, innovation, and strengthening client relationships.
Outsourcing ultimately creates space for your organization’s talent to do what they do best, leading growth and driving competitive advantage.
2. Maximizing value during off-peak periods
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Invest in training and skill development
Quieter seasons provide an ideal window for outsourced teams to strengthen their capabilities. Through targeted training, they sharpen their skills and align more closely with your business standards, ensuring they are even more effective when demand picks up again.
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Streamline processes for greater efficiency
Downtime also allows for process reviews and refinements. Outsourced teams can collaborate with your organization to identify inefficiencies, update workflows, and introduce smarter tools or automation, paving the way for smoother operations in the next busy cycle.
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Elevate customer experience initiatives
With extra capacity available, external partners can turn their focus toward customer-centric projects, such as improving response times, enhancing support channels, or developing proactive engagement strategies. These initiatives add lasting value and strengthen brand loyalty.
Why Vietnam is an ideal outsourcing destination
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Cost advantage without compromising quality
Vietnam offers one of the most competitive labor markets in Asia, striking a rare balance between affordability and quality. Unlike more saturated destinations such as India or the Philippines, it continues to deliver strong value without compromising standards.
For businesses seeking high returns under the new outsourcing model – Outsourcing 2.0, where expertise and outcomes matter, Vietnam provides the ideal mix of efficiency and excellence.
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Strong English proficiency in business and customer support roles
English proficiency in Vietnam has advanced rapidly, supported by government-led initiatives like the National Foreign Languages 2020 Project. This investment has strengthened language skills across the workforce, making communication smoother and more reliable.
For eCommerce businesses, this means Vietnamese teams can confidently handle many roles, ensuring buyers receive clear, professional responses at every stage of the journey. The result is a seamless customer experience that strengthens brand trust across global markets.
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Cultural compatibility with AU and U.S. markets
Vietnamese professionals are recognized not only for their strong work ethic and collaborative mindset but also for their eagerness to learn and grow. This adaptability makes them quick to adopt international best practices, which naturally aligns with the expectations of Australian and U.S. partners.
The cultural harmony fosters trust, accelerates integration, and drives more productive collaborations, making Vietnam a reliable partner for companies expanding their global operations.
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Growing BPO expertise in eCommerce and logistics
Vietnam’s outsourcing industry has developed strong capabilities in eCommerce, bulk order processing, and logistics coordination. This maturity ensures dependable support for complex workflows. In 2025, the country’s BPO market is projected to reach US$639.25m, with growth expected to hit US$808.56m by 2030 – a clear sign of its rising global role.
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Strategic timezone overlap for both AU and U.S.
Vietnam’s time zone, 3 – 4 hours ahead of Australia and 12 – 15 hours ahead of the U.S. offers a unique advantage for global teams.
– For Australian businesses: it enables real-time collaboration during mornings or afternoons, while Vietnamese teams continue to advance projects into the late afternoon and evening.
– For U.S. companies: the overlap with the tail end of the afternoon allows for a smooth handover. Once U.S. teams log off, Vietnamese teams can provide ongoing customer support, resolve issues, and move deliverables forward.
Vietnamese teams can also align with AU and U.S. core hours when real-time collaboration is required, ideal for daily stand-ups, project reviews, or urgent issue resolution.
Logistics and fulfillment advantages of outsourcing to Vietnam
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Seamless integration with AU and U.S. logistics systems
Outsourced logistics teams in Vietnam can be tightly integrated into AU and U.S. supply chains. Using API-driven connections and shared platforms such as SAP and popular Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), they enable real-time inventory tracking and order synchronization across continents. This ensures transparent operations, accurate fulfillment, and consistency even during peak demand.
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Coordination with warehouses, 3PL providers, and last-mile delivery partners
Vietnam’s logistics outsourcing sector benefits from a strong ecosystem of third-party logistics (3PL) providers, bonded warehouses, and last-mile couriers. Outsourced staff manage tasks like scheduling, shipment monitoring, and exception handling, allowing local providers to handle picking, packing, and transportation.
This collaborative model keeps costs lean while maintaining high service standards, giving businesses the scalability to navigate seasonal surges confidently.
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Data management: tracking orders, customer updates, and real-time reporting
Vietnamese teams excel in back-office logistics functions through roles such as admin assistant and data entry specialist. Equipped with tools like your in-house teams, they handle order tracking, update customers proactively, and maintain real-time dashboards for stakeholders.
These capabilities keep workflows visible and responsive, improve customer communication, and empower managers to make fast, data-backed decisions.
Preparation timeline and action plan
If you’re considering outsourcing, here’s a four-phase timeline to guide your first-year build your team journey and ensure it scales with your business:
1. July – September: Performance review and bottleneck identification
The first step is to take stock of your operations. Analyze last year’s performance, pinpoint recurring bottlenecks, and highlight areas where in-house staff felt the most pressure. Engage internal managers and external advisors to define measurable goals, whether that’s reducing support backlogs, improving order processing speed, or extending service coverage.
This groundwork ensures your offshore team is built with a clear purpose and measurable outcomes.
2. September – October: Partner onboarding and systems integration
With goals in place, the next phase is choosing the right outsourcing partner in an ideal hub like Vietnam and ensuring systems align. This includes setting up integrations with platforms like CRM, ERP, or WMS, and running pilot tests to check workflows, communications, and reporting accuracy.
During this stage, you also define the roles your offshore team will fill, such as sales support, logistics coordination, or customer updates, and map out responsibilities alongside your in-house staff. Early testing minimizes risk and creates a strong foundation for collaboration.
3. November – December: Peak season rollout
The true test comes during peak demand. Deploy your offshore team in live operations, handling high-volume tasks like overflow order processing, customer queries, and exception management.
With responsibilities clearly assigned, everything runs smoothly between in-house and offshore teams. Regular check-ins, real-time dashboards, and escalation procedures keep performance consistent and ensure issues are resolved quickly during the busiest months.
4. January: Post-season assessment and long-term strategy
After the peak season, conduct a thorough assessment to evaluate service quality, speed, and overall efficiency. Collect feedback from managers and customers, measure ROI, and identify areas for process improvement.
This is also the right moment to strengthen retention strategies and expand your offshore team into additional roles, such as finance support, or digital marketing operations. By turning lessons learned into structured SOPs, you set the stage for a sustainable outsourcing strategy.
This phased plan ensures businesses not only survive seasonal spikes but also transform outsourcing into a competitive advantage.
Conclusion
Outsourcing to Vietnam goes far beyond cutting expenses, it’s a strategic move that builds operational resilience and scalability. During high-demand periods, having a reliable offshore team ensures your business remains agile, responsive, and capable of meeting challenges head-on.
If you’re eyeing a smoother peak season with a robust support structure in place, now is an ideal moment to begin conversations with outsourcing partners. Planning your offshore strategy in Q3 positions you perfectly for Q4 execution, whether it’s for customer support, logistics coordination, or back-office operations.
Learn more about why U.S. retailers are turning to offshore talent to scale smarter, and get inspired to make your next peak season your best yet.
