E-commerce: Use shipping prices to your advantage

The consumer economic landscape has evolved from well-stocked brick-and-mortar stores to simple digital interfaces in an online store. E-commerce shipping prices are closely tied to the success of a digital store.

When business owners move their store online or complement the in-store experience with an online one, they have to be the ones to get their products into the hands of the customer, wherever they are.

For years, Amazon has capitalized on its free two-day shipping (free if you don't count the $119/year it charges you for the service). Not only did Amazon create a new norm for customer expectations, but it has made almost every other online business scramble to compete.

When factoring shipping prices into your online store, there are a few things you should consider:

Flat rate shipping

There are several ways you can charge for shipping, and it's essential to know how each one affects your bottom line.

Flat rate shipping means the fee for shipping will stay the same for the entire order or the orders that fit that specific size classification. Some shippers choose to charge an average cost of shipping to make up the loss of expensive products by charging a little more on cheaper ones.

Free shipping

Of course, there is the option to offer free shipping in your online store. But what does that look like?

Shipping is never actually "free" and the costs come from somewhere. E-commerce shippers can usually factor a shipping charge into the price of the product itself. Others only offer free shipping if the customer has hit a certain order threshold in the subtotal or pays a subscription fee.

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Real-time carrier rates

Lastly, a way to add transparency to your online store is to show real-time freight carrier rates for each order. Until recently, it was challenging for merchants to display e-commerce shipping prices to customers.

But connecting your online store with Shipwell can do precisely that. A customer can enter their location and delivery preferences, and Shipwell will import real-time rates for carriers instantly.

Now, you don't have to worry about losing money in shipping costs, and the customer can see a transparent view of what is going directly to the carrier.

Shipwell integration and API

Of course, shipping doesn't end at the checkout page. In fact, it begins there, and a lot of the customer service review will come from prompt communication and delivery.

Shipwell can integrate directly into your online store to benefit customers, but also be an order management tool for you.

Once an order is received, it is processed into Shipwell where you can manage documents, send customer-facing tracking, and streamline the entire order process. The Shipwell platform runs on a REST API that can easily connect to the Shopify Plus and Magento platform.

Ship e-commerce freight

Tracking orders in real-time

Ultimately, providing tracking is a must these days for online stores. Shipwell is connected to over 800,000 truckers nationwide and provides visibility to both shipper and customer on when and where the shipment is and its estimated delivery time.

Building your online store to compete with enterprise companies can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be. Shipwell believes that anyone can have a successful e-commerce store with the right tools. Leave the logistics to us, and get back hours in your week building your brand and providing excellent customer service.

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