eCommerce shipping strategy is a prior key to online store success, and more than 38 percent of customers will say they will never shop with a retailer following a negative delivery experience. And more than 60 percent of customers have selected a competitor with more convenient delivery options. 

Besides this, the eCommerce shipping strategy is more about just free shipping and fast delivery via those could be integral parts of the plan and we’ve catered possible integral parts of the plan best shipping guide to resolving to package and rest concerns. 

Table of Contents: 

1. Shipping methods with suitable Strategies
2. eCommerce Shipping Costs
3. eCommerce Shipping Rates
4. Shipping Carriers and eCommerce packaging 
5. Shipping labels with insurance in place
6. Shipping tracking and returns 
7. Shipping Integration with APIs

Ecommerce is much of a combination of representing products, delivering, and shipping them on time; eCommerce shipping surrounds all services required to transport products being purchased online from a retailer to the end-customers delivery destination. And so we know with the right delivery partner eCommerce shipping can be manageable, fast, and yet affordable. 

The shipping process entails everything from receiving a client order to preparing it for the last-mile delivery and it has three stages of delivery knowns as follows:  

• Receiving orders: this makes sure items are in stock to fulfill the order 
• Processing order: To verify order data making sure its accurate 
• Fulfilling order: One has to pick up the list is generated and items are picked, packed, and to be prepared to be shipped 

1. Shipping methods with suitable Strategies 

Everyone says there is a one-size-fits, which is actually a nightmare; as the right eCommerce shipping strategies for individual businesses will rely on the audience, margin, budget, product, and diversity of factors. 

The thumb rule says, proffering the combination of fast yet affordable shipping methods could aid in reducing shopping cart abandonment which eventually increases conversations.  This encompassed six different shipping methods to consider making a schedule of eCommerce shipping strategy. 

• 2-days Shipping: 2-days shipping is finally made available because of Amazon Prime; it has become easy with online shopping and one of the highly requested eCommerce shipping solutions. This certain way of premium shipping may become accessible to eCommerce giants. 
• Same-day delivery: This shipping solution guarantees same-day delivery will be delivered on the same day the product is purchased. More than 60% of customers are willing to pay more for such privileged shipping speed. Order to execute on same-day delivery requires coordinated operations, courier services, resources, and of course technology. 
• Overnight delivery: While two-day delivery is the norm then how eCommerce will stand out? This is where Overnight shipping came into the picture; a shipping method simply guarantees customers receive their order the next business day. 
• Expedited shipping: Expedited shipping represents any shipping method that is faster than a standard ground, and the exact turn-around for expedited orders can vary depending on the carrier and shipping services. eCommerce online stores decrease card abandonment to meet customers’ expectations whilst can build customer loyalty with efficient eCommerce shipping solutions. 
• Eco-friendly shipping: Eco-friendly brands with customers is also an option; this consists of the use of biodegradable material which can easily be recycled and useful shipping methods. 
• International shipping: If you are sitting in the US or located overseas and want to begin Shipping eCommerce delivery can be done by international shipping, perhaps international shipping can be shipping and expensive for any business.  

Distinct countries have different regulations, taxes, and tariffs and this requires incoming shipment; Hence, it’s essential to find experienced fulfillment partners who can help you in navigating the best shipping for eCommerce with affordable shipping rates. 

2. eCommerce Shipping Costs

More than 70 percent of shoppers expect affordable, fast deliverables when they shop online yet one needs to make sure that eCommerce shipping costs are affordable for the businesses. Although, eCommerce shipping and logistics cost so the resources guide on everything one needs to know about shipping for eCommerce. 

• Shipping Cost calculation: The cost of shipping may vary depending on a variety of factors consisting of the package dimensions and weight, having the shipping destination, shipping carrier used, shipping service, and the value of the contents keep reading to learn more about how eCommerce shipping cost work to find the most cost-effective shipping solution for their online businesses. 
• Dimensional Weight: Major shipping carriers simply use a pricing technique called dimensional (DIM) weight to calculate the shipping cost and the dimensional weight takes into account the size of a package to understand the shipping cost. 

eCommerce shipping companies/carriers like USPS, UPS, and FedEx calculate shipping charges based on which one is greater and the weight of the package or its DIM weight. 

• Reduction of Shipping costs: In order to grow businesses looking for lower shipping costs, working with third-party logistics (3PLs) providers can make a big impact, and outsourcing shipping services to 3PLs to assist eCommerce businesses to scale operationally via leveraging shipping discounts. 
• Shipping Zone: The primary reason to note shipping zones is to know or measure the distance between a package’s origin and its defined destination. For instance, in the continental US, the zone varies from Zone1 to Zone8. Meaning those two different points of origin shipping to the same destination were shipping to completely different zones. 
• Handling & shipping: Referring to layman terms, shipping cost is calculated from getting the package from the shipping carrier to the end customer, consisting of handling fees covering items on picking lists, moving inventory, shipment, shipping label generating, and loading the shipment on a truck and finally fulfilling the center of operations. 

3. eCommerce Shipping Rates

Various eCommerce businesses utilize different eCommerce shipping rates structures to charge their clients for shipping; this consists primarily of two popular eCommerce shipping costs as follows: 

• Flat-rate shipping: This simply refers to charging the same fixed shipping rate, either crossing all orders for all orders that fit specific weight ranges,  order values, and other classifications in place. This Flat-rate shipping is a blend of average shipping and handling cost across orders in the category. 
• Real-time carrier rates: Prominent eCommerce stores display real-time carrier rates at checkout, and the exact shipping rates will automatically be pulled from the carriers based on the clients’ location and delivery preferences. Eventually, this allows customers to charge the real exact amount that it costs the businesses to ship the order via eCommerce delivery. 
• Free shipping offerings: Free shipping can decrease shopping cart abandonment and increase conversions to build customer loyalty in place whilst you can offer free shipping while staying profitable in a few different ways. 

4. Shipping Carriers and eCommerce packaging 

Shipping carriers are being utilized to build an eCommerce shipping method as there are different shipping carriers and the shipping services as follows: 

• USPS: When we talk about Shipping, USPS is the king of all of it; the prominent reason is it already runs postal services for local residents’ routes, and it’s often the cheapest option for ground shipping. 
• UPS: UPS comes in mainframe with its offering for several shipping services across a variety of shipping destinations and/or transit times having the ability to schedule pickups to manage customer returns just-in-time. 
• FedEx: FedEx is a master in providing a wide variety of delivery options at several different price points; meaning FedEx also runs a program called FedEx Small Business that is geared toward growing agencies in requirement of shipping for eCommerce. 
• DHL: DHL is well-known for its global reach with international shipping capability for eCommerce delivery. 

Beside Shipping Carriers, eCommerce packaging plays a pivotal role to ship orders directly affecting individual shipping costs and clients’ experience it’s often the first-in-person experience where your clients have the branding to make sure to offer a fascinating purchase experience. 

eCommerce packaging has a different method to choose from as follows: 

• Choosing the right packaging: Choosing packing has always been a curious part of the packaging in place as it contains information like type of product,  product shape, weight of product, state of produce be it fragile or durable, manufacturers offerings while shipping, and whatnot. 
• Packaging in Customer manner: To be high pace in the competitive eCommerce landscape, high-quality custom packaging could aid to stand out from the rest of the herd as this eventually increases or provides a better customer experience. 
• Eco-Friendly packaging: Referring to a recent survey performed by an Environmental Protection Agency that the packaging makes up one-third of all such household waste. Hence, making up with Eco-friendly packaging is a good fit for the planet’s better life as is the best shipping for eCommerce in this cut-throat competition.  

5. Shipping labels with insurance in place

Shipping labels and insurance are integral parts of eCommerce shipping strategy; as they are not intriguing perhaps are definitely essential to ensure consumers have the best customer experience via niche offerings. 

• Labels: In general terms, shipping labels proffers shipping carriers with importer information, especially about the origin and destination of the ordered package. Without an insightful shipping label, one’s order could be lost/damaged or delayed or mishandled. wherein, this may create a negative impact on customers’ minds and eventually damage brand loyalty, and sales.  Shipping labels consist of the return address, destination address, packaging weight in place, class, and tracking number on it. 
• Insurance: The term insurance says all, perhaps here eCommerce shipping companies must maintain shipping insurance as this offers reimbursement to senders whose parcels or delivery are lost, damaged or stolen while in transit. Based on product type like Fragile/durable shipping insurance cost varies and this increases the shipping cost. 

6. Shipping tracking and returns 

The entire shipping process doesn’t end when eCommerce shipping carriers pick up the order, one needs to continue to offer a substantial customer experience during the full-proof order journey even from sharing tracking numbers to building a robust return process via Magento development or another platform. 

• Managing Orders: Order management comes into the picture while the process of receiving, storing track of, and finally fulfilling those orders is placed by customers. That’s where having the right order management strategy plays key characteristics that can aid in reducing stockouts or back-ordered products and a list of unhappy clients. This solution centralizes those critical data to simulate the retail fulfillment process and to make better business decisions. 
• eCommerce shipment seamless tracking: Passing tracking ID and/or number is essential irrespective of the shipping order be it in-house or through 3PL. On top of this, the order management system permits tracking of the shipment each step of the way or route whereas customers can do the same. 
• eCommerce return management: YES, you heard it right! Return could be a huge headache for eCommerce verticals, perhaps having ideal eCommerce returns procedures in place became the USP (unique selling point) of 95 percent of shoppers who are pretty much satisfied with the returns process and will surely make a purchase from the same seller again with a positive outcome. 

7. Shipping Integration with APIs

Technical preference while suggested via an eCommerce development company makes a huge impact on individuals’ shipping strategies, starting from shopping cart solution to any shipping APIs; and making sure seamless integrations of API is essential. 

• Shopify Shipping: owner of the Shopify eCommerce store has a variety of different eCommerce shipping options consisting of Shopify shipping, such as ShipStation, and is working with 3PL like ShiBob- which automatically integrates directly with Shopify to fulfill orders as soon as customers place them.
• Squarespace Shipping: One can integrate their Squarespace eCommerce store with a shipping platform in order to make the order management, a delivery process much more structured. 
• WooCommerce Shipping: Just like Shopify, those who use WooCommerce have several options especially when it comes to eCommerce shipping by partnering with a PL.
• BigCommerce Shipping: To outsource fulfillment of BigCommerce stores, ShipBob offers direct integration to implement it with ease. 
• Wix Shipping: Wix itself offers a wide range of eCommerce integration and requires apps to enhance Wix stores and build an entire or end-to-end eCommerce solution. 
• Amazon Fulfillment: Amazon has a capacious amount of benefits to work with a 3PL and ship Amazon orders. 
• APIs Shipping: Through shipping APIs eCommerce brands have the ability to integrate shipping functionality directly to their online stores which aid in streamlining the checkout and order fulfillment processes. 

Final Verdicts: 

We have catered the best possible way to get insights into shipping for eCommerce, and please share your view so as to get fruitful input that assists us in guiding you in the right direction. 

Feel free to ping us to get a free consultation to craft an eCommerce store and shipping strategies in place.