Shipping and delivery costs can often be a moot point in online shopping, and lots of people attest to the indisputable fact that high shipping costs often cause them to abandon their cart and look for what they need elsewhere.
However, offering free round-the-clock shipping is not at all times a viable option, particularly for small businesses, and trying to compete with Amazon’s free next-day or even same-day delivery options can eat into your bottom line pretty quickly.
With this in mind, you should look at our shopping policies, your logistics company and charges. This ensures users get value for money, fees do not keep people away, and you can still make a profit.
Choose the right delivery partner.
With over half of web shoppers abandoning their cart as a result of high shipping, having the ability to find the right partner will work to your advantage. For some businesses, it can be paid to use more than a delivery provider and look into that available options to adjust your costs and get the best price. In many cases, you may find it better to use flat-rate shipping, where you pay a single rate for a given weight irrespective of parcel size so long as the shipment you send matches an agreed maximum weight.
Use the correct packing size.
Companies like UPS charge more for larger-sized packages, and if you ship your product in the wrong package size, you will find that you are paying more for shipping than you should. Supplier likes https://www.texanbox.com/ offers a wide range of packaging boxes to meet the needs of diverse customers, which means you can find shipping supplies in the right dimensions to help you keep your costs down. Better yet, find a supplier that does not have a minimum order value to help you avoid buying in bulk and increasing your spending on shipping materials.
Offer local delivery or pickup.
If you have a physical location or means of delivery within a certain radius, this can play a crucial role in keeping costs down. Offering customers the opportunity to pick up the item themselves or for you to have it delivered can be an added incentive to close the sale and not look elsewhere. In this way, they earn the convenience of online shopping without the long waiting times for delivery and the high costs related to this option.
Use lighter packaging materials.
Finally, pay attention to the packaging materials you use, including the box too. The heavier the material, the more likely you are to pay. This may only cost you a few cents per parcel but can be a different weight consideration to add to your burden if you’re on flat rate shipping with having the ability to add more parcels to that particular shipment. Or it could mean that you can save extra money as these pennies add up all year round to increase your profits. Corrugated cardboard boxes are lighter than ordinary cardboard, and air bags, bubble wrap, and foam inserts are also lighter packaging materials to keep costs down.
Conclusion
When it comes to reducing shipping and passing those savings on to your customers, it is the little details that matter, and you need to look at what you are using and how you are shipping to help you identify the savings and changes you are making to benefit you and your customers.