Recording standard sales is a dream for any big shopping season – whether it’s winter holidays, back-to-school, or the launch of a highly anticipated product. But the reality is that even after the sale has been made, you still need to prepare shipping and fulfillment for each order.
Fortunately, this is a great shipping problem you have, and we’re here to help. This guide contains everything you need to create a consistent shipping experience that puts the customer first during busy periods, including specific ways Shopify Shipping, local delivery, and in-store pickup can help you ship more orders to more places quickly and efficiently. Get ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and holiday shipping:
1. Map out your shipping and delivery process
Do you know what the steps are in your shipping and delivery process? If the answer is no, now is the time to figure that out – and if the answer is yes but you don’t have a record of it, now is the time to do that as well. Transferring the process from your head to paper will help inform any team members or “volunteer” family members who assist you in fulfilling orders during busy periods. It’s also a good idea to reassess your shipping strategy to ensure it remains relevant for peak season, as conditions may have changed.
To figure out what your shipping process is, pay close attention to the orders you’ll be shipping in the upcoming period, or check with your team if they’re handling fulfillment. Make a list of each step and note how long it takes (approximate times can be good).
For example, it might look like this: Reviewing all open orders in one place from the “Orders” tab in Shopify. (1 minute) Organizing the orders by delivery area and method, such as local delivery or in-store pickup. (2 minutes) Selecting the necessary inventory for each order based on the delivery method. (3 minutes) Printing packing slips in bulk or using the Shopify mobile app to view products for each order. (2 minutes) Getting appropriately sized packaging and any add-ons, such as branded materials, coupons, or free samples. (1 minute) Printing shipping labels in bulk in the Shopify dashboard for the orders you intend to fulfill. (1 minute) Setting up the “assembly line” for packing slips, inventory, packaging, add-ons, and shipping labels. (2 minutes) Packing each order with a packing slip, inventory, and add-ons. Then, sealing and labeling each package. (5 minutes) Attaching a shipping label to each package. (2 minutes)
As you identify the stages of your process, look for any bottlenecks and be sure to note how long each step takes to complete. Is there anything you can do to streamline those steps or make them more efficient?
Reducing one minute from each shipment may not seem like a big deal, but if you’re handling ten shipments and deliveries a day, that’s actually ten minutes you (or your team) could spend on something else.
If you’re shipping more than three orders a day, it might be time to consider delegating your order fulfillment. By sending your inventory to the Shopify Fulfillment Network, your orders will be picked, packed, and shipped to your customers – giving you time to focus on scaling your business. Learn more about the Shopify Fulfillment Network.
2. Save time by buying and printing shipping labels in bulk
To save time on each order you fulfill, you can buy and print shipping labels in bulk on Shopify. Since you will also get negotiated shipping rates for USPS, DHL, and UPS in the U.S., Canada Post in Canada, or Sendle in Australia when shipping with Shopify, it’s a real win.
To get started,
All you need to do is go to your orders page and select the orders you wish to fulfill.
When you select “Create Shipping Labels,” you will see the complete list of shipping prices and details of all the orders you have selected, and you can purchase and print shipping labels from that page. If there is any missing information, you can fill it in directly there.
Read more about bulk printing in Shopify
3. Set up Local Delivery or Local Pickup for Local Customers
As consumer behavior evolves, so does the way your products reach them. Options like local delivery and local pickup allow you to connect with your local market, putting more control in your hands and less in the hands of a third-party carrier.
Setting up local delivery in Shopify is quick and easy. You can then use the Shopify Local Delivery app to build and share optimized delivery routes to streamline delivery. When it’s time to go out and deliver, delivery staff and drivers can also download the app on iOS or Android to access directions and send notifications and delivery status updates.
For local customers who want to order online but wish to pick up the products themselves, you can offer BOPIS options, such as curbside pickup or local pickup. This is a convenient way for local customers to bypass shipping costs and collect their purchases in-store or on the go or from other locations you choose. When you set up local pickup for your online store, the shipping rate is automatically set to zero! Consumers have loved the ease and convenience of this experience, and it is a trend likely to continue after the pandemic.
Setting up local delivery or local pickup in Shopify
4. Shipping Supplies and Packing Materials
After establishing a consistent process in place, you should have a good idea of the physical items you need to fulfill each order. Now it’s time to figure out how to stock your shipping and packing supplies and ensure you have enough of each item to handle expected sales.
The last thing you want is for your shipping and delivery process to halt because you realize you’ve run out of labels in the middle of pending orders.
If you’re using a desktop printer, be prepared to restock your shipping label supplies. If you want to upgrade to a thermal printer, do so now and not two days before Black Friday.
Merchants in the United States can also stock flat rate shipping boxes and express priority mail supplies for free directly from USPS, so if you can take advantage of that, make those orders ahead of time. Canada Post offers a variety of shipping and packing supplies, and Sendle provides compostable envelopes. Check those out and order your supplies earlier instead.
While offering gift options may take time and money, you will be able to successfully sell your products to shoppers in need of add-ons like gift wrapping – which, if free, can encourage them to purchase without needing extra discounts. It also requires planning ahead to ensure you have enough supplies to get through the season. Shopify merchants can add a gift wrapping option to their shopping cart page or use an app like Gift Wrap Plus.
5. Ensure You Can Meet Key Deadlines and Plan for Delayed Deliveries
During every holiday season, shipping companies release shipping deadlines to ensure delivery before specific holidays. This year, carriers are slowly releasing schedules, but with the ongoing public health situation of COVID-19, pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, and the rise of global e-commerce, delivery times may be delayed.
Prepare
to another busy online holiday shopping season, keep track of your shipping carrier’s shipping deadlines and factor these impacts into your delivery times. You can see the 2021 holiday shipping deadlines in our Help Center or visit your carrier’s website.
6. Develop Your Peak Season Shipping and Delivery Strategy
Your shipping process has been set, and you have all the necessary supplies. The next step is to figure out the details that customers see – specifically, what will you charge for shipping?
The most common options are free shipping, flat-rate shipping, and actual cost shipping. We have some tips to help you determine which one is best for your store.
1. Free Shipping
Shipping costs are often the most common reason consumers abandon their carts, so offering free shipping is a smart way to use a compelling offer to improve conversion rates without relying solely on percentage or cash discounts.
However, it may not always be cheap to provide, even with the discounted rates you get from USPS, UPS, DHL Express, Canada Post, and Sendle with Shopify. If you want to offer free shipping to everyone, you need to understand how it affects your margins and what costs you need to cover – including the shipping cost of your heavier products and shipping to your farthest locations.
That said, it’s not all or nothing when it comes to free shipping. You can offer free shipping occasionally to some of your customers. You might consider sending a free shipping coupon code to your existing customers to encourage repeat orders or offering free shipping on orders that exceed a certain amount to increase average order value.
When you offer free shipping, you’ll need to monitor cutoff dates. If you’re only offering standard free shipping, you’ll have to clearly communicate the expected arrival dates so customers can order in time for the holidays.
2. Flat-Rate Shipping
If you want to offset some shipping costs and avoid shocking customers at checkout, a flat-rate shipping policy is a great idea. With flat-rate shipping, set a price that covers most of your shipping costs most of the time, and be prepared to cover particularly expensive shipping options or items.
Flat-rate shipping also increases conversion rates at checkout compared to carrier-calculated rates. Your customers will know the shipping fee upfront, and you’ll recoup most of your shipping costs.
3. Actual Cost Shipping
With actual cost shipping, customers can see the shipping cost for their order and pay it at checkout. They will get the same discounted rates from USPS, UPS, DHL Express, Canada Post, and Sendle that are available to you as a Shopify merchant when fulfilling your orders via Shopify Shipping.
Cart abandonment rates tend to rise around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with shipping costs being one of the reasons. You’re not obligated to offer actual cost shipping, especially if this is what works best for your business, but it’s important to be aware of the potential impact – and have a plan in place to recover shoppers who abandoned their carts.
4. Delivering Orders to Local Customers
When customers are close to your business, you can offer them unique, local ways to receive your products. This can speed up delivery time and create a better customer experience while encouraging more local sales thanks to fast, free (or affordable) delivery and pickup options.
When you set up local delivery, the customer will see the option at checkout. You can use a radius or postal codes/ZIP codes to determine how far you’re willing to go to deliver orders. You can also set your delivery fee, require a minimum order, and create a message about how and when you will deliver.
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For local customers who want to order online but prefer to pick up their products themselves, you can offer BOPIS options, such as in-store pickup or local pickup. This is a convenient way for local customers to bypass shipping costs and collect their purchases in-store, on the go, or from other locations of their choosing. When you set up local pickup for your online store, the shipping rate is automatically set to zero! Consumers may love the ease and convenience of this experience, and it is a trend likely to continue post-pandemic.
5. International Shipping
International shipping can open your business to new markets, but it requires understanding customs and taxes related to each country you sell in. You may not currently ship internationally because it seems complicated and costly, but it’s not as difficult as you might think.
Additionally, customers are becoming more likely to shop outside their borders, so if you’re considering expanding your audience, an international shipping strategy is a great way to do that.
There are already carriers with international shipping options built directly into Shopify Shipping to simplify the process for you: USPS, DHL Express, UPS, Canada Post, and Sendle. You can ship with the same major shipping companies that global merchants use, with guaranteed fast delivery, negotiated shipping rates, and service in over 220 countries and territories.
Whichever option you use, when purchasing international shipping labels through Shopify Shipping, all customs forms and details are generated automatically for you. If you’re shipping with DHL Express, the information is sent electronically to customs, so you won’t need to deal with paperwork.
If you’re new to international shipping, pick one country to start and learn the process. Display the countries you ship to and the available shipping options on your store so that customers can find this information.
When purchasing international shipping labels through Shopify Shipping, all customs forms and details are generated automatically for you.
You will also need to understand the taxes that may be imposed on your shipments and display those fees or processes to your customers. Since taxes and fees can vary from country to country, and even from year to year, you may want to provide a clear disclaimer that you do not cover, and are not responsible for, the fees and taxes that may be imposed on their order upon arrival.
Covering your bases this way is safer than trying to pinpoint every fee in every country. If you see a high volume of orders from a particular country, consider providing more information for your customers there.
Once you have your pricing strategy in place, it’s time to move to execution by ensuring that each product is ready for shipping, starting with adding accurate weights.
6. Adding Weights to Your Products
Adding an accurate weight for each product helps customers see precise shipping costs at checkout. It’s good for them, but it’s also good for you: you’ll be able to print the correct shipping labels quickly for each order since you won’t need to update or correct the weight during fulfillment.
Need to find out how much each product weighs? Get a shipping scale from the Shopify Hardware store.
7. Communicating Shipping and Delivery Options and Costs
We know that unexpected shipping costs can negatively impact your conversion rates, but “How much will it cost?” isn’t the only important question customers ask about shipping during the busy holiday period. What’s also important is “Will my order arrive on time?”
Don’t hesitate to over-communicate while answering both questions, as the answers are critical for anyone considering purchasing from you.
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Tip: Clarifying shipping speeds at checkout for your customers boosts conversion rates, provides clarity and transparency, and increases trust. Learn more about how to add shipping speeds directly from your Shopify admin.
This message from the Province of Canada explains how you can inform customers of their order cut-off times and dates to ensure delivery before a holiday – in this case, Father’s Day. The Province of Canada also took the opportunity to send a final reminder about their sale, making this message serve a dual purpose.
If you’re short on design time or resources, or simply prefer the reliability of plain formatting, text-based information works just as well – especially if you have details you know your customers will care about.
Your international customers will appreciate the information just as much as your local ones, enabling them to make better purchasing decisions as well.
In addition to your website and product pages and checkout pages, it’s important to give customers multiple ways to get the answers they need. This can include support via email or social media, live chat, a shipping policy page, a help center, or a FAQ page.
Many customers will browse the shipping policy or FAQ page if they have a shipping-related question. Providing this page with the correct information helps them find answers quickly and reduces the need to contact you.
Setting up a shipping policy page is simple. Create a new page on your store, add a link to the page in the footer, and make sure to include information about:
- Tracking shipments
- Shipping options and delivery times
- Returns and refunds
- Customs and international shipping availability
- Lost or damaged packages
The details of any individual policy depend on your business, products, and margins, but having a central site for directing your customers is the first step in managing frequently asked questions about shipping.
8. Set Up Your Return Policy
Another aspect of shipping to consider during a busy period is returns.
Source: https://www.shopify.com/blog/holiday-shipping-guide#prices
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