Evolving Expectations: A Look into the Future of eCommerce Shipping

What leading retailers are saying:

• Nearly all of our survey respondents said it was very important to offer a range of delivery options at checkout.
• Express, Overnight, Same day and Pick up in Store ranked as the top delivery options.

Key takeaways for retailers

• Give your customers a choice of shipping options – Including same-day, free shipping, overnight, pick up in store and more.
• Consider your courier mix – Do you have the right courier partners to enable the delivery options your customers want?
• Do you have the right software in place to manage your shipping rates at checkout and set responsive margins, so your customers know what they’re paying – and you do too?
• Implement a ship-from-store strategy – Consider using stores as micro distribution centres, both to allow pickup in store and to get orders to customers faster.

Key takeaways for retailers

• Proactive shipping updates are a great tool. Not only do they keep excited shoppers in the loop, they’re an opportunity to promote sales, related items or content about the product.
• Communicate. No matter how long the delivery may take. More than 20% of shoppers have abandoned an order because the seller couldn’t guarantee a delivery date.
• Effective delivery options balance timing and pricing. The cost of shipping is important to 74% of shoppers surveyed, but 68% want accurate timing as well.
• Build loyalty. The more you keep them in the loop while their goods are in transit, the more they’ll be happy to spend with you in the future (More on this to come in Trend #5).

What leading retailers are saying:

• Retailers are using smart software to save time and money: 80% of our survey respondents said they were already using shipping automation software, and 59% said they were using inventory management software.
• In 2023, 33% plan to implement shipping automation software and 32% plan to implement inventory management software.

What leading retailers are saying:

76% of retailers prefer to negotiate their own courier rates instead of using courier aggregator services. It’s easy to see why. Instead of having little to no control over courier costs, retailers can negotiate with their couriers directly and keep a handle on costs as their business grows.

Do you prefer to manage your own relationships with your couriers or use a third-party service?

• 76.2% – I prefer to negotiate my own shipping rates with couriers
• 23.8% – I prefer to use a courier aggregator

Key takeaways for retailers

• Be prepared to adapt – Uncertainty no longer justifies inaction and change doesn’t always mean risk. Keep your business flexible and open to new solutions.
• Get smart – Bringing on new solutions (in a considered manner) could unlock time and money. With automated shipping solutions, for example, you could save hours per week without needing to scale up your number of warehouse staff.

What leading retailers are saying:

Here’s why retailers are choosing to implement ship from store strategies. While sustainability and costs rank as high considerations, it’s speeding up customer delivery timeframes that makes this an attractive model for retailers.

Ship from store: What you need to know. This unique shipping model is growing in popularity due to two related factors: An expanding eCommerce market (it’s forecast to make up 24.5 percent of the total retail sales market by 2025) and traditional brick and mortar stores continuing to prove a popular option for customers.

The benefits of ship from store

Keep freight costs down: Shipping from store is a great way to combat rising freight costs if you have a network of stores, but don’t have multiple fulfilment centres.

Improve inventory turnover and reduce deadstock: Fulfilling online orders using retail stock means higher inventory turnover (less aging stock). It also helps you to avoid the issue of deadstock.

Increase delivery speed: Ship from store can improve your delivery speed and help you achieve faster delivery timeframes (like same-day delivery).

Reduce cart abandonment: Free shipping (and shorter shipping timeframes) can have a big impact on reducing cart abandonment. Using the ship from store model can help you to more easily meet these timeframes.

When should you ship from store?

Small retailers often find the ship from store model useful as they won’t typically have a distribution centre, instead using a few retail stores to ship from store.

In a nutshell, you should ship from store based on the following calculation:

• How can you fulfil orders in the most effective way? And:
• What’s the best way to get orders out to customers in the expected timeframes?

You also need to consider:

Inventory management – When you introduce inventory held in stores alongside inventory held in a central warehouse or distribution centre, but you’re selling it through the same online channels, you will need to think about how you manage your inventory. Some eCommerce platforms (like Shopify) provide multi-location functionality out of the box, which provide simple inventory management across multiple locations.

When and how to ship orders – If a customer orders a coffee cup and an espresso machine, you’ll need to determine the most cost-effective way to fulfil those orders.

Key takeaways for retailers

• Inventory Management - Proper inventory management is key. Ensure there’s accurate tracking and visibility of inventory levels at each store location to allow for efficient fulfillment of online orders.
• Integration with other platforms - Integrating your store systems is essential for a seamless ship from store experience, to ensure your website accurately reflects in-store inventory levels and orders can be processed and fulfilled efficiently. Focus on integrating your stores, eCommerce systems and shipping platform.
• Employee training - Proper employee training is crucial for the success of your ship from store strategy. Ensure your in-store team understands the process and can handle online orders, packaging and shipping to keep customers happy.

What leading retailers are saying:

How many couriers/carriers are you currently using?

And the reasons why retailers use more than one courier?

• Access a wider array of delivery options and services.
• Ability to make decisions based on delivery performance.
• Ability to pick the cheapest shipping rate for each order.

Key takeaways for retailers

• Implement a multi-courier strategy to secure your shipping operation and save on your bottom line.
• Make sure you’ve got the right mix couriers to support the delivery options your customers expect (e.g. same day, overnight, express etc).
• Consider a centralised shipping solution to manage your couriers, automate the process of assigning orders to couriers and adding new services when required.

Key takeaways for retailers

So how do you make the most of this demand? The best approach is to have a clear strategy for how international shipping will work with your eCommerce business.

Some of our top tips are:

Don’t rush – There’s no need to go global immediately. Think about opening into one market at a time to ensure you’re ready for the unique demands and opportunities of each one.

Check the regulations – Depending on what you’re selling, you may need to pay specific taxes or use certain packaging. Also, check you’re not banned from shipping certain products.

Price your shipping sensibly – It’s tempting to lure customers in with deals like “Free shipping over $50”. However, not all your domestic deals will work with international customers where shipping prices are higher and not always static.

Use the right tools – Automated shipping solutions can handle things like customs documentation and HS codes, making the process of sending orders overseas as easy as sending packages down the road.

With the right plan and the right partners, opening your business to new markets with international shipping is an exciting step that will put you on the path to future growth.

Key takeaways for retailers

• Use your data to improve – By continually learning from your shipping data, you can uncover which courier to use for different types of services based on their performance.
• Use the right tools – Shipping software with analytics dashboards can make understanding your data much simpler, giving you easy-to-understand overviews of how your shipping is performing.
• Pay attention to your data – For any measurements to be successful, you need high quality, accurate data. Ensure your product codes are correct and make sure your stock is accurate.
• Sharing is caring – The more you can communicate with your courier partners, suppliers and customers, the better the picture you’ll get.

What leading retailers are saying

Here’s what sustainability efforts leading retailers are considering:

• Sustainable packaging
• Carbon-offset or carbon-neutral sending
• Choosing partners or couriers with a focus on sustainability

Key takeaways for retailers

• Watch your costs - Customers will often pay more for sustainable options, but often only around 10 per cent more.
• Stay informed - Changing generations and spending habits bring new trends and opportunities for retailers that can evolve with them.
• Integrate sustainability with your brand - Communicate with customers about the efforts you’re making to be ethical and eco-conscious. Walk the walk with sustainable packaging and environmentally friendly practices.

Key takeaways for retailers

• Offer self-service returns - Having an online branded portal where customers can login and print their own branded packaging slips not only makes it simpler for them but also for your customer service teams.
• Provide multiple refund options - Ideally, customers will want to exchange for another item, but you still need to offer prompt refund services for situations where this isn’t possible.
• Nail your returns policy - Make it clear to customers what your policy on product returns is, and make sure this policy is easily accessible on your website.
• Have a return to store option - It’s sometimes easier for customers to return products to the nearest physical retail store if that’s an option for your business. Nearly two-thirds of shoppers are more comfortable purchasing when this option is there as a backup.
• Communicate with customers - Good communication is the key to managing returns effectively. Keep customers informed of the status of their return and consider offering incentives for customers who choose to recycle or donate their returned items instead of returning them for a refund. This can help reduce waste, save on shipping costs and improve customer satisfaction.

Add your unique touch to each stage of the fulfilment process

• While the order is in transit - Send personalised, branded order update emails linking to branded tracking pages.
• When delivery is complete - Make sure the unboxing experience is unforgettable with custom thank-you messages, recycled packaging and other promotions.

Key takeaways for retailers

• Create a seamless purchase experience - From search through to checkout, make it as easy to buy your product as possible.
• Focus on the unboxing moment through packaging - Establish consistency with customers, position your product and use it as another channel to tell your brand story.