There is no shortage of studies that confirm the importance of free shipping. But a comprehensive shipping strategy extends beyond free. It includes other crucial elements that impact conversions and customer satisfaction. I’ll address nine of them in this post. Beyond Free Shipping Shipping cutoff times. Customers want their items as soon as possible. At […]
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Product returns from online shoppers are growing. Happy Returns, a venture-capital-funded startup, is one of several companies that provide services to ease the burden for shoppers and merchants. Happy Returns has physical locations nationwide, such as in this shopping mall. The rate of customer returns for goods bought online is swelling to a worrisome level
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Amazon’s 2016 shipping expense, at $16.2 billion, was 17.7 percent of direct ecommerce revenue. Independent merchants can learn from Amazon by managing carriers and eliminating errors, among other tactics. If Amazon reduced shipping costs by just 1 percent, it would save $162 million. Amazon spent $16.2 billion on shipping in 2016. We can be certain
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A free shipping offer is a powerful ecommerce promotion. It can boost conversion rates and increase average order values. Like other forms of advertising and promotion, free shipping is an expense. A merchant can see the charges from UPS, FedEx, and the United States Postal Service. But, like other forms of advertising and promotion, free
7 Tried-and-true Free Shipping Promotions to Drive Holiday Sales Read More »
Customers expect delivery. For online stores that sell tangible products, order fulfillment is arguably the single most essential task. It is the culmination of marketing, web development, and customer service. For retail ecommerce businesses, providing a customer with a product is the mission. And the worst possible time to mess up that mission could be
6 Holiday Ecommerce Shipping Mistakes to Avoid Read More »
Selling across international borders can provide helpful revenue to merchants. But the complexity of laws, transit times, and delivery cost can be daunting. Dr. Eugene Laney is an authority on cross-border shipping. He’s the head of international government affairs with DHL, the worldwide logistics firm. I recently spoke with Dr. Laney on the obstacles to
DHL Executive on International Selling, Logistics Read More »
Ideally, a shopper comes to your site, finds a product she wants to buy, puts it in her cart, and then completes the purchase. Near the end of that process, an often-overlooked set of explanations can sabotage the transaction: the policies on shipping, refunds, and returns. Let’s examine these elements to make sure your shoppers
How to (Clearly) Explain Shipping and Return Policies Read More »
