One of the most important aspects of online selling or E-commerce is shipping. However, many online business owners never consider this fact. They spend the most time enhancing their site or online shops, creating exciting offers to attract customers and best price deals. But here’s another thing that customers care about, and actually the most and that is shipping!
Here are some insights that will actually make you consider building a shipping strategy for your business.
- Almost 95% of online shoppers think that shipping prices affect their shopping
- Customers who receive free shipping have a 10% higher overall satisfaction
- 52% of customers add items to their cart just to ensure they fulfill the criteria of free shipping
- 36% of online shoppers say that they abandon their shopping carts because of no free shipping or excessive shipping costs
Well, customers love the ‘free shipping’ offers and statistics show that people would not want to pay extra for the delivery until and unless it is really necessary for them. Sometimes, a minimal shipping amount could be considered by the customers and they would make the purchase.
Therefore, if you want to retain your customers, enhance their shopping experience, and shoot up your product sales then, just keep reading further as we are here to tell you all you need to know about eCommerce shipping in 2020!
Deciding Your Shipping Strategy
First, you need to decide how you are going to ensure the quality delivery of products to your customers. This begins with setting some clear objectives of why you want to set up an effective shipping strategy. Some possible reasons could be:
- Increasing your sales or benefiting your customers to win their trust
- Expanding your target audience and reaching out to new customers
- Ensuring minimal shipping rates
- Improving on how your shipments are packed and delivered
- Taking feedback on your shipping process and making changes as required by your customers
It is not only the cost of shipping but the condition of the shipment when it arrives at the customer. Many times when customers receive damaged goods, they feel cheated. Similarly, when an item goes missing from the order and they do not have anyone to register a complaint about, they would likely not order again from your website. Therefore, decide in advance, what all would be your objectives for a shipping strategy. Start fulfilling those objectives and your strategy will be crystal clear to you in no time.
How to decide shipping rates?
The cost of shipping of an item depends upon the size, weight and how far is the sender from the receiver. Many times, you might have seen that online sellers keep free shipping in certain areas but might take additional charges if the order is placed from outside their free shipping range.
Shipping within the city or even the same country could be managed. But when it comes to international shipping you need to consider the costs of custom/duties, credit card fee along with the shipping charges.
After all this, you might want to consider your profit margin. Some Ecommerce platforms also allow real-time shipping rates. They seem more effective than those where a flat shipping rate is applied no matter how much the actual order costs.
Which shipping management software to use?
Consider the preferences of your customers
Do you know that online sellers are moving towards automation? So if you are not even using a dedicated shipping management software yet, pull up your socks! Every shopper has their own preferences when it comes to shipping. Some people might wait for a couple of weeks for their package but would want a free delivery while others might need the shipment the next day and are willing to pay extra for that. Your shipping software should offer such options to the customers.
It’s a real-time thing
Similarly, shipping software that shows the real-time status of the order is preferred in every sense. Some merchants also provide an estimate of when the particular product would reach the customer even before they place an order. This is a great option as it enables the customer to decide whether they should buy that product or not.
Tracking orders is a must
Some shipping software notifies the customers when their order is shipped and hence allows them to track the package further. “Many times customers worry whether their order will be delivered to them on time or not. But with such a feature, they can estimate when their shipment will be and whom to contact if there are any delays. It helps in gaining the trust of the customer,” said Joseph, one of the assignment help experts of business management at a leading assignment provider company.
An option to return
Another important thing that a shipping software must consider is the option to return or exchange. Online shopping might not turn out as expected. Sometimes customers are not satisfied with the quality of the product they receive. There could be discrepancies with the size or colour of the product too. In any of such cases, you must allow a return or exchange option and your shipping software should include that.
Go for shipping software that offers the maximum features as it will make the shipping process much easier and manageable for you. It would also reduce the burden of your customer support as otherwise, they might be busy answering queries of the customers regarding their order status. A few trustworthy shipping software are ShipWorks, ShippingEasy, and ShipStation. Check them once to compare the policies and prices.
Who will be your shipping carrier?
This is an important factor. If you would not choose a trustworthy carrier, there are chances that your shipment would not arrive in the right condition. Generally, choosing a carrier depends upon:
- Size and weight of the shipment
- Destination
- The time limit of arrival
You may choose more than one shipping carrier as per your shipping requirements. Some of the major shipping companies are DHL, UPS, USPS, Federal Express, Royal Mail, Australia Post, and Canada Post. Compare the costs, delivery times, delivery options, and their shipping networks before deciding the one suitable for your products.
“Your choice of shipping carrier might also depend on whether you want to deliver your products nationally or internationally. It is predicted that by 2021, there will be more than 2.14 billion online buyers worldwide. So you can expect how great your outreach could be if you decide to sell globally,” said John, an online marketing specialist at MyAssignmentAssistance.
Is packaging important?
For many would not know, the packaging is also an important part of the whole online shopping experience. Today, customers value high-quality packaging that is not only secure but presentable. This is why many online sellers pay special attention to the packaging of their products to impress customers.
People are moving ahead of black and white receipts and including personalised messages in their packages. In fact, a great unboxing experience is a reason for success for many brands. A great unboxing experience can help you in many ways:
- Tell your story with the unboxing. You can include a series of pictures depicting how your brand came into existence or what are your aims and objectives. For instance, if you are creating environmental-friendly products, a card showcasing your concern about the environment and a thank you note to your customers is a great way to make them feel special and realise that they have spent their money the right way.
- Superior packaging is a good way to attract more influencers. Many influencers might find your brand intriguing just because of the way you connect with your customers through quality packaging. You never know, you might go viral because of that! A quick note here: Never deliver special packaging to your influencer that you would not deliver to your regular customers. Many influencers consider this as a bad practice and might not want to promote your products again.
Mike, one of the experts in customer experience management at GoDissertationHelp said, “just a few changes in your regular packaging and a little investment can do wonders for your brand. For example, use boxes of your brand. You can give them a unique colour or include your name and logo over them. You can also use special packaging material rather than a simple plastic sheet. Also, a free sample would be like a cherry on top!”
Key Takeaways
Shipping does not have to be a hassle. With such innovations in the shipping process, it is now a matter of your brand’s identity and reputation. So start listing out the objectives for your next shipping strategy and make a list of shipping options you want to provide (free shipping, real-time rates, standard shipping, in-store pickup, or a hybrid shipping policy). Then, decide your shipping rates and look out for a suitable shipping software and a suitable shipping carrier (the more features the better).
At last, spruce up your packaging process a little bit to gather the attention of your customers and you will be ready with a shipping strategy of your choice. Do keep space for the experiment and keep testing your shipping policies until your customers are satisfied.
