8 Typical Methods of Ecommerce Shipping
Ecommerce stores deliver packages to their customers via various shipping options. These are the most popular methods used by online stores to ship packages to their customers, and are the ones the majority of customers expect when they shop on the internet.
Free
Customers often expect free shipping when placing orders. It is possible to make this happen for your company, regardless of size, by baking the cost of shipping fee into the cost of your product or you need a minimum purchase on each purchase.
This can increase the efficiency of your eCommerce shipping overall because there will be less weighing and measuring to manage for your products. It’s easy to send products out knowing that the shipping cost is included, or that the minimum spend threshold is reached and then move on to the next order from your customer.
Economy/standard
It’s usually the most economical method of shipping that couriers offer to online stores. But, it’s usually slow to deliver and is best used for products that aren’t time-sensitive. Certain customers might be fine using this method if they are looking to save money and aren’t in a hurry.
Flat-rate
Flat-rate shipping is a form of shipping that does not depend on the size or weight of the product. Instead, the online retailer packs as much of the product in one package as is possible.
This option is usually offered by the USPS however other shipping companies do provide this service. A lot of online stores choose flat-rate shipping as it’s an efficient way to get more items delivered to customers in one shipment.
Same-day delivery
Same-day shipping delivers an item to the customer’s address on the same day the order is made or delivers a product on within the same day that the customer placed the order. The majority of online stores will and should clarify the type of same-day shipping they use, so that customers know exactly the time they’ll receive their purchase.
This is usually the most economical for large companies such as Amazon as well as Best Buy who have the infrastructure for near-immediate shipping and delivery.
2-day shipping
Due to Amazon’s standardization of 2-day shipping, many retailers across all over the world now offer (or striving to match) this speedy delivery option. For instance Target and Walmart both Target and Walmart provide free two-day delivery on certain items across their websites.
Similar to same-day shipping, this alternative to shipping via e-commerce might not be the most economical until your business has grown enough that you are able to afford the infrastructure required to optimize the efficiency of your shipping operations and provide items to your customers.
International
International shipping can be described as any method of shipping (even those mentioned above) that delivers and transports packages that are not within the retailer’s regional or domestic shipping zone. It is usually between countries , but it can also occur over continents.
Shipping freight is the most affordable method of moving packages from one region of the globe to another. It is particularly useful for online businesses that require huge quantities of goods from their countries of origin to their home warehouses.