Whilst you may be tempted to lock in otherwise variable rates and forge a loyal partnership with just one courier, if you are too quick to settle into a commercial agreement with a solo courier company, you will rob yourself of the power to negotiate and stunt your ability to offer infinitely better (cost saving!) options and wide-ranged services.
We believe online sellers should instead choose to strategize shipping and fulfilment by using a customisable tech solution to assist you.
Diversify before you lose
When it comes to making it in over-saturated industries, being diversified is essential for business. And in E-commerce, one of the reasons you may have a low sales conversion rate will come down to shipping costs and the lack of options on offer.
Shopping cart abandonment
Distribution and logistics might not sound exciting for some, but how many shopping carts lie abandoned on your site after making it to the ‘buy now’ button just to fail at ‘confirm purchase’ due to under-performing delivery/shipping options and lack of disclosure?
The numbers, provided in a Sleeknote blog by Baymard Institute, indicate 55% of carts are abandoned due to extra costs at the checkout, such as previously hidden shipping charges.
Limiting the number of shipping alternatives may be limiting your power to demand results and thrive in a saturated economy. Your company needs to have options and the capability to withdraw those who fail to deliver to your standard. The deadweight will end up drowning your business in costly returns.
Considerations for a successful shipping strategy
Forming a shipping strategy for your deliveries is crucial for a brand’s long-term success, especially if you have less avenues for differentiation in the marketplace, such as those utilising dropshipping. Ask yourself these questions:
- What is the best shipping strategy for my E-commerce business to thrive?
- Does it mean offering free shipping all of the time to every customer, everywhere?
- What policies will achieve the balance between rigid, third-party partnership loyalties and fickle customer-to-brand loyalties, i.e. growing my business and establishing strong partnerships whilst building customer loyalty in my brand?
- Can my company offer it all? If not, what can my consumers do without and still be happy?
Carriers
Consider the carriers you choose to offer. What do you need to look for in a shipper/courier? Flat rates or varied services? What are they willing to offer you and your customers? Consider any contracts and keep your options open.
Competitors
What are your competitors offering their customers? Real-time rates, or live rates for same-day, second-day delivery? Standard, flat fees, or free shipping? LTL Freight for large, heavy, bulk orders? What is working for them? Adopt those strategies or improve on them.
Consumers
Once you have determined what your business niche is and where your brand stands, your final strategy considerations must include the needs of your customers and might look like:
- Free standard delivery
- Same- or next-day courier service
- LTL freight
Your decisions will depend on the market data you have researched and what your target consumers want, but you might offer competitive local or expedited shipping rates or economical international shipping. If you have a brick-and-mortar storefront, you can offer free in-store pick-up.
If in doubt, conduct a consumer survey and ask your customers directly what services they value most in any brand.
Clarity
All best practice policy should include transparency. According to a Big Commerce statistic, based on a Pitney Bowes’ survey, only 22% of merchants at the time mentioned shipping policy on their homepage.
Be direct and avoid disgruntled customers or abandoned carts; don’t hide policy in the small print. Let people know what they are signing up for: be clear on the price, projection, process, policies (e.g. returns), and providers, and you will achieve precision.
The solution’s in the conclusion
Finally, sometimes creating intricate shipping strategies doesn’t work for an E-commerce business. It can take a larger operation to implement a successful strategy and it may not be a feasible task. To run a viable E-commerce store and brand, look to Mintsoft. We have a solutions suite to meet your courier and shipping needs with multi-carrier and 80+ UK and worldwide courier integrations to offer, plus geographic zone customisation and more.
Get in touch for your free demo and we will show you how to make your shipping strategy an easy reality.