Available Shipping Methods by Category-The secret to more revenue

 

Shipping may just be the most complex aspect of eCommerce fulfillment. It is a key component of the customer experience which is why it requires time and effort to plan. While you can provide a superior shopping experience, it is your shipping process that enables customers to connect with your products. 

You’ll need to rely on various shipping methods or categories to fulfill customer orders. Consider some key stats that might shed some light on how important the shipping categories available is for retailers:

  • Across the board, all brands average 3.2 shipping options
  • Food & Beverage offers the least, but considering the spoilage of the product, this makes sense as 2-day and next-day will likely be the only options. 
  • In instances where there were more upgrade options, upgrades were more frequent.

Fedex’s slogan at one point was “when it absolutely, positively has to be there tomorrow.” Your available shipping by category or shipping methods is a crucial metric that can help measure your eCommerce performance. Should you be offering as many shipping methods as possible or just stick to a few categories? And how could the shipping categories available affect customers at checkout? 

Available shipping by category for eCommerce businesses

Retailers use different shipping methods to get packages into the hands of consumers. Over time, these customers have become accustomed to some of these delivery methods and now expect to see them when shopping online. Here are some of the most common shipping categories:

Expedited shipping

Expedited shipping is an umbrella term for shipping methods like same-day, next-day, express, or any shipping method that guarantees faster fulfillment than regular methods like flat-rate or economy. Customers prefer expedited shipping when they need swift delivery. 

Same-day shipping

This method guarantees that customers will receive their packages the same day they placed their order. An established eCommerce shipping company can help you offer this kind of shipping service. 

Overnight shipping

A Statista research shows that 18% of consumers desire next-day deliveries which is possible with overnight shipping. However, it comes at varied costs depending on the shipping service provider.

Two-day Shipping

Two-day shipping can be considered fast and still allows you to optimize between shipping costs and speed. It is also an option that 44% of consumers are willing to pick while shopping. 

Flat rate shipping

Parameters like weight, height, and size are usually factored into shipping cost calculations. But flat rate shipping overrules all that, allowing you to play a fixed rate whenever you ship using specific-size boxes from a carrier. This allows you to ship as many items as possible and pay a fixed fee, so long as all items go into the box.

Free shipping

Free shipping helps lower cart abandonment, increase conversions, and build loyalty. Offering this method means you’ll either have to factor shipping costs into product prices or have customers qualify for free shipping when they reach a specific spending threshold.

Standard/Ground shipping 

Might be the lowest-cost shipping category but it is usually slower and best for packages that do not require urgent delivery. Customers who want to save money may be willing to wait it out for a couple of days. According to stats, 21% of customers will wait 3 to 4 days, 10% will wait 5 to 7 days, and 2% will wait for one to two weeks.

International shipping

This service is often more expensive since the products have to be shipped over large distances. The shipping rates for international shipping differ depending on the brand.

Freight shipping

Freight is best for mass shipping and is used when large quantities of goods have to be shipped to a fulfillment center or distributor. Freight shipping comprises ground, ocean, air, and multimodal freight.

Local pickup (no shipping)

You can convert your physical stores into local fulfillment centers using the Buy Online Pick Up In Store (BOPIS) platform. With BOPIS, customers can order online and then walk into the nearest local store to pick up their orders quickly without paying for shipping. That way, you won’t have to worry about contracting a carrier to get your products shipped. 

If you want to learn more about how available shipping categories impact customer satisfaction and how you can address these issues, check out our latest guide on the metrics you should be tracking and how to address them.

(Link to Guide)

We’ve also prepared more guides on other crucial metrics you should be leveraging in order to deliver a flawless customer experience and increase conversions. Check them out below:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Web of Custom Order Fulfillment and Order Experience

Image
Custom Order fulfillment software capabilities Every software provider business has its own story, about why its software is better than any other software in the market. In this modern world of competition in every field, one must be aware of all the tools that could help one grow their business. This calls for being ready and informed when the time comes and you feel the need for an order fulfillment software to deliver goods like BigCommerce Fulfilment . Order experience and best customer experience delivery is the answer to client retention and business growth, and all the companies who have understood this are making moves already to become the best in order fulfillment and customer satisfaction, raising their brand value and revenue. To ensure that your software is also up to the mark, take care of the following details: Creating new orders and updation should be quick Viewing, searching, and editing the existing orders must be available to your employee in case the customer...
Read more

Delivery Transparency: What Does Estimated Delivery Mean?

Image
  As an e-commerce brand, your ability to deliver orders on time and with clear communication can make or break customer experience. Shipping metrics such as ship date, delivery date, and   estimated delivery date   are crucial components of this experience. But what do they mean, and how do they affect your customers? In this article, we'll explore the concept of delivery transparency and how it relates to e-commerce shipping. We'll also discuss the common terms related to shipping transparency and how they factor into the customer experience. Finally, we’ll detail how FenixCommerce can help your e-commerce brand achieve greater shipping efficiency and transparency by more accurately predicting the shipping timeline than carriers and simplifying the decision making process so you can focus on attracting and retaining customers through other channels. Understanding Delivery Transparency Delivery transparency refers to the level of visibility and communication that a brand...
Read more

Improve Your Order Experience With The Best Order Management Software

Image
Not very long ago, let’s say if you go 10 years back in time then you won’t find the word Order experience of much importance to business owners. In the last decade, the eCommerce industry has seen new heights of business and has grown a hundred folds with more businesses opting to sell goods online. With more businesses selling things online, came the competition to stay ahead of each other in business. After having this newfound power of the internet, companies started reaching more audiences and diversified their businesses.  Now, when the business is at its peak in the digital world, the word Order Experience has a crucial role in retaining business for companies and helping them to raise their brand value. With more companies selling the same product, every organization wants to keep their customers and make sure that they don’t feel like changing their seller and with this, the role of Order Experience gets bigger. Order Management Software OMS is the tool that is used for ...
Read more