Putting in the time to map out an effective shipping strategy is one of the best investments you can make in your ecommerce business.

Although it’s easy to take a simplistic approach to shipping, properly planning out your strategy will help differentiate your business, maximise customer satisfaction, and increase your profit margins.

There are many different shipping strategies that you may choose to implement. Below are some of the most popular.

Free In-Store Pick-Up

If you have several brick-and-mortar stores or a very strong local business, offering free in-store pick-up is a great method of enticing new and existing customers.

Free in-store pick-up benefits both you and your customers. You won’t have to waste time sending packages and your customers won’t have to spend extra money on delivery.

Live Rates

Getting live rates in real time directly from carriers like UPS, FedEx or DHL is another shipping strategy you can employ. This will often get you the best possible rates while still covering your shipping costs, ensuring minimal expenditure for both you and your customers.

Implementing this strategy can however, cause confusion amongst your customers as the rates are often inconsistent and can vary significantly.

Same-Day Delivery

Same-day delivery is a great tactic in maximising customer satisfaction and fast-tracking your deliveries. It will help you stand out from your competitors, build your business’s reputation, and increase your conversion rates.

Unfortunately, same-day delivery is very difficult to guarantee unless you have a seriously smooth logistics operation and plenty of resources on-hand.

Unless you’re only doing local business, we don’t recommend this as your first go-to strategy. Consider overnight or two-day shipping instead.

Free Shipping

Free shipping is a straightforward and easy-to-implement shipping strategy that is used by many ecommerce businesses around the world. It’s easy to explain to customers, aligns with customer expectations, and boosts conversion rates.

The only drawback with free shipping is that it is an additional expense for your business. Although it will help you generate more sales, it may not necessarily boost your profits if you are losing money on each order.

Flat Rate Shipping

Employing flat rate shipping is another commonly used strategy. It involves charging a flat rate for all orders, regardless of what is being purchased.

Although this strategy likely won’t positively impact your conversion rate or business reputation, it will help avoid shipping-related confusion amongst your customers.

Mixed Shipping Strategies

Many businesses have made the decision of implementing multiple shipping strategies in order to further maximise customer satisfaction and sales generation. For example, some businesses offer free shipping and same-day delivery so they can drive customers to check-out and then entice them to pay for faster delivery.

In addition, many businesses offer standard or flat shipping rates in conjunction with free in-store pick-up. This way customers have the option to not have to pay for delivery and businesses will be less likely to lose sales as a result of high delivery prices.

Not all these strategies will work for your business, so it is important to consider them carefully before you decide to implement any.

If you have any questions or are wanting to learn about our hassle-free shipping services, contact ISS today!