One of the essential aspects of eCommerce is logistics or shipping. It can make or break any online business because it is critical to completing any transaction. As eCommerce grows in popularity, the importance of shipping becomes increasingly apparent. All eCommerce shipping firms strive to give their consumers a frictionless experience and excellent returns. To achieve this aim, choosing a mode of transportation that makes shipment more economical and manageable is essential.

What Is eCommerce Shipping?

The phrase eCommerce shipping refers to the delivery of items ordered from an online store to the consumer’s address. It is gaining increasing importance with the growth of online purchasing.  Good shipping gives enhances your consumers’ purchasing experience, develops trust in e-commerce, and makes any business more favourable.

Why Is eCommerce Shipping Important?

In the case of online shopping, shipping is the first moment of physical interaction with your buyers. Therefore, offering your clients a satisfactory shipping experience is critical if you want to keep them returning to your e-commerce business.

ECommerce shipping gives you automated order processing, delivery, and returns. Appropriate eCommerce shipping can help you fulfil orders quickly and affordably with timely delivery, resulting in happy customers.

In today’s fast-paced society, 92% of consumers favour businesses and sellers that can offer same-day or next-day delivery. Their shopping experience primarily hinges on how quickly they get the order.

According to the study, unpleasant delivery situations have caused 38% of online buyers to never buy from the same retailer again. Don’t lose your customers! To avoid hostility, you must learn e-commerce shipping best practices and strictly adhere to them throughout your business journey.

eCommerce Shipping Methods

Most eCommerce companies provide a variety of shipping methods to help fulfill customer demands. Here is a list of five popular eCommerce shipping alternatives:

Quick Shipping

This delivery method guarantees that clients get their order the following business day. It’s a reliable shipping option that may assist you in managing orders without giving your consumers the impression that delivery is unduly delayed. However, this approach is more expensive than the conventional two or three-day shipping.

Flat-rate shipping

Flat-rate delivery is the most popular choice among online retailers. In this type of shipping, a carrier provides set delivery costs for various box sizes. Any weight can be shipped as long as the package can hold it. It is the ideal shipping choice for small businesses or when you have a range of products with goods similar in size and weight. However, as your product range grows, flat-rate delivery becomes more complex and ineffective.

Standard Shipping

To send items of varying size and weight, Ecommerce favors standard shipping. It generally includes a complete monitoring option and a reasonable delivery schedule. Additionally, this shipment offers delivery to a broad range of locations with global operations.

International Shipping

Want to reach clients in other countries? Then you must have some form of international delivery. It may be a difficult and costly service for a business to offer. Different nations have their own set of rules, trade laws, procedures, and taxes. Finding a trustworthy partner – a carriage business – is therefore essential. A specialist carrier will assist you in navigating international shipments or give accurate shipping prices.

Expedited Shipping

Expedited shipping is the solution when customers need their items delivered faster. For urgent orders, this approach has advantages over slower options like flat-rate shipping, offering clients specific arrival schedules so they know when their shipment will arrive, etc. The delivery time for an expedited shipment is frequently the same day, overnight, or two days.

Hybrid Shipping

Hybrid shipping combines at least two separate delivery companies or suppliers to assist your business in managing, organising, and delivering merchandise. Online merchants can pick the most suitable and cheap services to implement this strategy, making it a superb e-commerce shipping alternative. 

How Does eCommerce Delivery Work?

Processing of the Order

Order processing refers to the operations required to complete a customer’s order. Each purchase is associated with the particular order and tracking ID for the product to be delivered. Different teams are responsible for various aspects of the order processing. The inventory is updated, the purchasing department work is closed, and the tasks are assigned to the wrapping and delivery teams.

Packaging Order in the Warehouse

Before the final delivery, all items in the order must be appropriately packaged. Packaging has two purposes: first, to protect the goods from damage, and second, to create brand recognition. However, packing must be done according to the particular type of object. It should be simple and discreet but also solid and durable enough to safeguard the goods during transportation. Furthermore, to help boost brand recognition and retention, your brand logo should be fully evident on the box. 

Pick Up & Delivery

This step is the third and most crucial stage of the delivery process. Ecommerce enterprises require a sound logistics system to facilitate smooth and on-time order delivery to clients. Hiring or collaborating with a reliable third-party transportation or courier company may be advantageous for this purpose.

Returns

Lastly, shipping requires return procedures. When a consumer returns an item for whatever reason, the shipping company brings it to the retailer, and the returns process starts. The compensation and further steps are carried out in line with the terms & conditions of returns.

Ecommerce Shipping Strategies

Let’s take a look at some important eCommerce shipping tactics to keep in mind.

Make Shipping Rates Visible

Customers who check out and then discover extra shipping expenses are more inclined to leave their basket and cancel their transactions.  So, mention your eCommerce shipping charges before they checkout.

Free Shipping Offer

The most popular shipping method among customers is free shipping. However, shipping does cost money. You may have to boost your rates to cover the expense of free delivery, which may make your items less competitive.

Order Fulfillment Accuracy Guarantees

The cost of returns is a significant eCommerce shipping expenditure. The most effective approach to cut this expense is to have fewer returned products. While it is hard to eliminate eCommerce returns, correct fulfillment of the order and packaging of the goods can reduce your return rate.

Display Expected Delivery Times

Customers want to know when their order will arrive. So, throughout the checkout, emphasize how long each delivery choice will take.

Tracking Feature

You might not want to leave consumers in tension once they’ve made a purchase, so make it possible for them to monitor their order. Fortunately, many online shipping platforms provide tracking capabilities.

How Shiprocket Helps With eCommerce Shipping

Shiprocket’s primary objective is to help maintain customer satisfaction by providing various delivery alternatives and good services. Here are the details:

• Regardless of the number of orders you ship, you receive the same perks and rebates. By selecting Shiprocket, you can save up to 50% on your annual shipping expenditure.
• Choosing the best courier service for your company requires much study and patience. It is also difficult to meet your business’s requirements with just one courier partner. Shiprocket allows you to select from numerous courier providers based on your delivery needs.
• Shiprocket makes it easy to track and manage orders, including return orders.

Final Remarks

Your e-commerce shipments must use a courier service that satisfies your delivery requirements for product volume, quality, and safety. Additionally, keep an eye on costs and try to choose the option that is optimal for your business, not the least expensive. Since every company has different shipping needs, Shiprocket provides a wide range of shipping services to cater to its various customers. Get in touch for more information or to book your first shipment.