Regardless of the size of your e-commerce business, shipping plays an important role in its success. Shipping provides you with a direct and physical connection to clients, and it affects how satisfied they’ll be with your service as a whole.
In this article, you’ll get to learn more about e-commerce shipping, including the needed steps to do it right and the number of stamps needed to ship a certain package.
What Is E-Commerce Shipping?
‘E-commerce shipping’ is a term encompassing everything it takes to successfully deliver products to customers after they make purchases online. With the help of the right e-commerce delivery partner, as the business owner, you’ll be able to make the process a lot easier and more cost-effective while giving your clients a delightful experience.
How To Charge Customers For Shipping
Here are some of the important factors you need to take into consideration when deciding how much you should charge for shipping.
- Weight
The majority of couriers compute their fees depending on the actual weight of the package or what’s called ‘dimensional weight.’ This is computed by multiplying the package’s width, height, and length and dividing the result by a certain rate.
Usually, some carries also use an object’s actual weight as a factor in the computation. But in essence, bulky yet lightweight items are typically charged by dimensional weight, whereas small, heavy ones are charged by their actual weight.
- Number Of Stamps
Calculating the number of stamps for parcels is quite complicated compared to doing so for letters. It’s because parcel postage is usually charged by the parcel’s size and weight and the distance it’s traveling.
Often, parcels are too large to deposit in mailboxes. Thus, you need to bring them to the post office in order to be dispatched, in which case it’s easier to ask the staff there to sort the packages on your behalf. If you want to know how much you should pay, especially if you’re sending a parcel within the US, you can either check the USPS stamp guide or use postage calculators.
- Destination
As a general rule of thumb, the farther a parcel must travel, the higher the shipping cost is. So for instance, e-commerce businesses based in California may offer different shipping costs to clients in California, other states in the US, and other countries.
- The Costs Of Different Couriers
Companies offering e-commerce shipping often charge varying costs for similar shipments. With that said, it’s crucial that you search around for the best price, but make sure to choose a reliable service provider instead of immediately going for the one with the cheapest fees.
- Handling Fees
A lot of e-commerce shipping companies as well as fulfillment services collect handling fees. These cover the packing and pickup of your parcels, generating shipping labels, and moving packages between various modes of transportation. Remember: the longer the distance the parcel must travel, the costlier the handling fees.
How To Reduce The Costs For E-Commerce Shipping
The following are some of the things you can do to cut down on your overall shipping expenses:
- Reuse Packaging Materials and Boxes
Since the products you’ll sell will be sent to you in boxes and come with other packaging materials, you can take advantage of them by reusing them when fulfilling orders for customers. But you need to make sure that they’re in good condition so that the items will be delivered safely and securely.
- Reduce The Number Of Boxes You Are Using
Check if you can combine orders with the same client in a single package instead of using several boxes for individual items. Furthermore, you can save money by choosing the right box size depending on how small or large the item is.
- Check Your Inventory
Make sure you’re aware of the sizes of your products. If they have the same sizes, consider buying suitable boxes for them in bulk. But if you’re going to work with a particular shipping company, you can use a standard-rate box to guarantee you’re investing the same amount in every shipment.
- Negotiate The Price
To negotiate a good deal, you need to fully understand the available discounts from various companies, present that information to your possible clients, and build a good relationship with each company’s salespersons and management team. Also, when you’re reviewing a contract, keep an eye on hidden charges.
Best Practices For Successful E-Commerce Shipping
If you want to ensure a successful online business and make the most of e-commerce shipping solutions, follow these tips:
- Indicate The Shipping Costs Clearly
When a prospective client checks out and encounters an unexpected shipping cost, there’s a high possibility that they’ll abandon their cart and won’t proceed with the order. Thus, you need to highlight the shipping costs before the shopper checks out.
- Allow Shoppers To Track Their Parcels
If at all possible, you don’t want to leave your clients in the dark after making a purchase, so it’s a good idea to offer them a way to track their parcels. Fortunately, a lot of e-commerce shipping companies like USPS offer a tracking service. What’s more, there are third-party companies that will enable you to make a branded tracking service.
- Show The Expected Delivery Period
Most shoppers want to know when they can expect their orders to arrive. With that in mind, make sure to indicate how long every shipping option will take during checkout.
- Offer A Return Service
Customers are happy when a shipping company has a good return process. If you can guarantee that for them, they’re more likely to buy from you repeatedly. Keep in mind that shoppers who aren’t satisfied with the return process might never buy from the same brand again. The worst part is they might even leave negative feedback that may ruin your brand’s reputation.
To avoid this problem, make sure to come up with a return process that’s friendly, straightforward, and efficient.
Final Say
Whether you’re just starting your e-commerce business or currently searching for ways on how you can optimize your e-commerce shipping, hopefully you’ve found the information above helpful.
It’s crucial for you to be transparent regarding your shipping policies and costs. Create a section on your website for such matters so your customers can stay updated on shipping delays, adjustments with delivery periods, and other related details of the process.
