Shipping and ensuring your product quickly reaches your customer is one of the pillars of e-commerce. If you are new to the world of e-commerce or you haven’t had your own online store before, here are the best shipping options for you to use.
Two-Day Shipping
Free two-day shipping was popularized by Amazon with their Prime subscription, and is now the standard amongst many online stores. Even if you have to pay for it, it is one of, if not the best, cost-to-speed shipping options out there.
Whether you sell wholesale packaging, candles, or sporting goods, two-day shipping gives you enough time to package and send out the product while still getting it to your customer in a timely manner.
Same-Day Delivery
Same-day delivery is something mainly done by those selling food products, as it is simply not food-safe to keep fresh produce in a shipping warehouse overnight. However, with the right ordering and shipping infrastructure, it can be used for a variety of products.
Many online stores don’t offer same-day delivery as they require a local warehouse and hub, as well as transport vehicles, in each and every area where the product is sold. This is why supermarkets are more likely to offer it compared to more niche or less common businesses.
Next-Day Delivery
Overnight shipping has grown in popularity over the years, as it is typically offered during the holiday season for all those last-minute purchases. Sellers will usually offer this service at a premium, due to the amount of work and speed it must be done in.
Next-day delivery should definitely be an option e-commerce stores offer, but sellers need to be aware of the extra work, speed, and infrastructure that is required.
International Delivery
International delivery is another fairly standard shipping option that is offered by e-commerce sites, but the details of it vary. This is simply due to the fact that delivery times, prices, and costs involved can differ depending on where you are shipping from and to. In cases of large volume exports, FCL container shipping is often preferred to ensure more predictable transit times and cost efficiency.
Many smaller e-commerce stores will offer 5-7 days international delivery, as it allows them to gather orders and do a bulk shipment, saving them money, as opposed to sending each item as and when it is bought.
Hybrid
Hybrid shipping is a more recent addition to the e-commerce world, and it prioritizes speed and efficiency. Hybrid shipping combines different fulfillment and shipping options to create a faster experience for customers.
An example would be using a shipping company that is fast in a city to deliver your goods to a company that has a superior air fleet. Another example would be dropshipping, which involves the manufacturer sending the products to the customer instead of sending them to the business first.
Hybrid shipping also has the added advantage of saving you money. This method allows you to choose the most cost-effective shipping method for each product and circumstance. You can choose which courier offers the best rates depending on where the product is going and what it is. For example, one company may offer substantially better rates when shipping large items compared to one that has to make allowances for it.
Eco-Friendly Shipping
Another shipping route that many e-commerce companies can and are taking is eco-friendly shipping. In this day and age, more and more business owners are looking to lessen their environmental impact, and one of the ways they are doing this is by changing how they ship their products.
Packaging
Firstly, you can use more eco-friendly packaging that can be recycled or reused. Cardboard and paper, for instance, have become standard for many companies, most notably Amazon. There are also some companies utilizing reusable packaging and containers, such as beauty brands, that allow for cheaper refills when using an original bottle, container, etc.
Recycling
Speaking of recycling, some companies have opted to use packaging or containers that are slightly more expensive but allow the customer to reuse them. Meal delivery services, for instance, have food containers that aren’t made from cheap, one-use plastic.
Warehousing
Another change that is becoming more common is online companies using localized warehouses to cut down on travel times. This means vehicles burn less fuel, put less carbon dioxide into the air, and can speed up delivery times. Once again, Amazon has this in place, which is why they can offer such fast delivery to most parts of the world.
Fleets
Finally, companies that have delivery fleets are choosing electric vehicles and bicycles. Companies such as UPS have invested in electric vehicles to lower their emissions, and others such as Uber Eats are partnering with electric bicycle companies to offer delivery drivers discounts on rentals.
E-Commerce Shipping Tips
Now that you understand the main and best shipping methods, here are a few tips you should remember.
Shipping Speed
It is always important to understand and optimize your shipping speeds. E-commerce companies are often chosen by consumers due to how quickly a product can be delivered, and therefore, you need to ensure your products reach your customers in a timely manner.
Shipping speed is determined by multiple factors such as the shipping company you use, your warehousing, where you are located, etc. These are all aspects that need to be factored in and optimized to ensure it doesn’t take a week to deliver a package to a customer that is 20 miles away.
Choose Your Shipping Company Carefully
Firstly, choose your shipping company carefully and be aware of what they can and can’t offer. For example, if you are shipping internationally, does the company have a fleet that can deliver your goods regularly and on time to their destination?
Sometimes, you may need to build relationships with multiple companies, as one may be better at local deliveries, while another may be better at international deliveries.
Offer Multiple Carriers
Oftentimes it is best to not only work with multiple carriers but to offer them as shipping options as well. There are multiple benefits to this, but the most important one is how quickly and effectively a parcel can be delivered.
For instance, if you only offer DHL as an option, and they suffer from a disruption of some kind, your deliveries will be halted. On the other hand, if you offer UPS and DHL, for example, then you won’t face the same problem.
Find the Best Deal
Always negotiate with your shipping company when figuring out prices and costs. Shipping companies want your businesses, and are more often than not open to negotiating a deal to secure your business.
This can mean a variety of things but typically will involve discounted shipping fees for bulk shipping, which not only saves you money but will also make shipping more affordable for your customer, too.
Package Correctly
If you are new to e-commerce, don’t overlook how important your packaging is when shipping. It needs to be strong enough to protect your product in transit while still being lightweight and affordable enough to not cost you or your customer a fortune.
This will require some trial and error and testing, but it is vital that your products, palettes/crates are protected and can handle being moved, stacked, protected from the weather, etc.
Shipping Insurance
Proper packaging isn’t always enough, and sometimes, damage or loss can still occur. Because of this, it is essential to get shipping insurance from your chosen delivery company, not only to protect you but, more importantly, to provide customer satisfaction.
When combined with a fast and simple return policy, you end up giving your customers an exceptional experience even if the product is damaged and needs to be replaced.
Offer Free Shipping
UPS ran a study that showed 46% of customers were strongly influenced by shipping costs when choosing a retailer. This means that something as small as free shipping can have a massive impact on gaining and retaining new customers.
When and if possible, it is also best to offer customers free shipping, and if it is not possible to do this outright, using a strategy such as “spend $40 to access free shipping” can increase sales and easily offset any of the money you would lose by offering free shipping to begin with.
Understand International Shipping Costs
You will get a lot of insight from your shipping company, but it is vital to fully understand the costs of shipping internationally and what changes the price. Many companies make the mistake of offering international shipping only to realize it will cost as much, if not more, than the product itself to get to its destination.
The size and weight of what you are shipping will affect the price, as well as where it is going and how much it is traveling. For instance, shipping a product from London to New York will be cheaper than New York to somewhere more remote, like rural China.
While this sounds like an extreme example, a lack of infrastructure or transport services can also increase the price of shipping.
Conclusion
There is a lot of information out there that needs to be learned and understood when it comes to shipping, but these are the basics that all e-commerce site operators need to be aware of to help them create a seamless and problem-free shipping experience.
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