{"id":6106,"date":"2020-04-11T17:34:26","date_gmt":"2020-04-11T21:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/?p=6106"},"modified":"2020-04-11T17:34:52","modified_gmt":"2020-04-11T21:34:52","slug":"5-reasons-why-e-commerce-shipping-integration-is-a-necessity-for-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/5-reasons-why-e-commerce-shipping-integration-is-a-necessity-for-your-business\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons Why E-commerce Shipping Integration Is a Necessity for Your Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Do your customers abandon their carts because of delivery?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are your shipping prices too high? Do you offer 24-hour delivery? Are international orders are a no-no because you can&#8217;t fulfill them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Studies show that within three years,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/internetretailing.net\/themes\/same-day-delivery-to-be-the-norm-by-2023-study\">same-day delivery<\/a> will become standard. The majority of customers expect free delivery&nbsp;and want it now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A successful shipping strategy&nbsp;should include multiple carriers to get&nbsp;the best deal. Does your website offer that? Or online tracking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps you&#8217;re unsure of the benefits of e-commerce shipping integration. How can they cut costs and improve sales?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&nbsp;are 5 good reasons why you should integrate shipping software into your site. Each one benefits both your customers and your business. Read on to find out what they are.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Get the Best Price<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>E-commerce sites often&nbsp;focus on price as the prime selling point\u2014but the price of a product isn&#8217;t the final cost a customer will pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Product Price + Shipping Cost + Taxes = Final Price.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the US, 55% of shoppers voted discounted shipping as a reason to buy online. With lower overheads than a retail store, an e-commerce store is expected to pass on those savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what if your shipping provider&nbsp;makes that impossible?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Modern, integrated systems gather the best prices from multiple carriers. This means your customer is automatically given the cheapest deal.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Multi-carrier shipping software also offers discounted rates because they buy in bulk. You&#8217;re no longer tied to one tier because you don&#8217;t meet the annual threshold. This is great news for start-ups who&#8217;ll ship&nbsp;fewer units in the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>International customers also receive a great deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many e-commerce shipping software solutions offer real-time currency exchange rates. You don&#8217;t need to&nbsp;manually edit figures in your store admin anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Online Order Tracking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theodysseyonline.com\/the-14-stages-of-waiting-on-package\">hilarious meme<\/a> highlights the frustrations of waiting for a package. Ironically, many websites make that process more difficult by not providing online tracking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This can be as simple as a log of status updates including where the package was last scanned. The best solutions display an interactive map with a real-time display of deliveries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well-integrated&nbsp;e-commerce shipping software displays the status of a package within your own website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That means customers don&#8217;t get confused by having to leave the order page. It also looks professional which in turn builds trust and encourages repeat business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any internet-enabled device should be able to track orders. Make sure the software you choose is responsive to mobile users as well as traditional computers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember, <em>communication is key.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tracking should be proactive. Your&nbsp;e-commerce shipping software should send text alerts of major delivery stages. It should email delivery completions for customer feedback. Calls about &#8216;where&#8217;s my package&#8217; will drop overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a business, you should be able to track all orders within your management system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An integrated approach allows full searching and reporting.&nbsp;Geo-tagging&nbsp;will highlight all your deliveries in real-time so you can pinpoint delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Give Them a Choice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The word <em>choice<\/em> lies at the heart of cart conversions. If customers have limited shipping options they may choose to abandon their purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can your provider offer 24-hour delivery? What about 2 hours for inner-city orders?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Local couriers often provide a faster service for metro customers. Multi-carrier shipping software takes advantage of that by using the customer&#8217;s address. The best rates combine price and speed but why not let your customer decide?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Forty-four percent of online retailers said <a href=\"https:\/\/retailwire.com\/discussion\/should-retailers-lower-expectations-around-last-mile-delivery\/\">customers expect free<\/a> or low-cost shipping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amazon.com made its fortune on the back of low-to-no shipping fees. Few companies can compete but you don&#8217;t have to. Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By using&nbsp;Amazon&#8217;s fulfillment service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amazon has 175 centers across the globe. You can sell on their website or use their services from within your own cart. eBay&nbsp;will offer its own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecommercebytes.com\/2019\/07\/24\/ebay-announces-us-fulfillment-service-will-launch-in-2020\/\">service in 2020<\/a> so you can also tap into their marketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Good shipping software offers <a href=\"https:\/\/shiptheory.com\/#integrations\">these integrations<\/a> as standard. And for specialized services like delivering bulky items, integration makes this possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Multiple sales channels combined with multiple carriers and options will equal multiple orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Order Management With E-commerce Shipping Integration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An order arrives. You need to contact your courier or run to the USPS office for stamps. Soon the&nbsp;parcels topple around you. How do you manage all this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>E-commerce shipping integration software assists in all areas of order management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Couriers are automatically notified of a new order and generate the required documentation. This is sent to your fulfillment center for processing. It can be done in batches or individually\u2014whatever suits your requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also generate return labels. This is a great customer service tool and&nbsp;streamlines the process of sending back an item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Customizing labels to include your brand&nbsp;makes you stand out from the crowd. It promotes your business along the delivery chain and acts as free advertising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shipping reports are essential when it comes to analyzing sales performance and include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Order Values &#8211; see&nbsp;exactly what you&#8217;re shipping each day, month and year<\/li><li>Shipment Volumes &#8211; view how many parcels leave your warehouse<\/li><li>Automation Optimisation &#8211; spot and patch gaps in your fulfillment process through automation<\/li><li>Delivery Services &#8211;&nbsp;identify your most active providers and services<\/li><li>International Success &#8211; evaluate global market capture in real-time<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When&nbsp;considering a shipping integration app make sure it works for your customer and for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Make It Simple<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A customer wants a simple, affordably&nbsp;priced, and speedy delivery. Unfortunately, there&#8217;s nothing simple about shipping calculators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An integrated system carries out that burden behind the scenes. Results appear as if waved by a magic wand!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet, the real magic happens through <em>a set of rules<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An online integration app gives you the option to create shipping rules based on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Weight<\/li><li>Order value<\/li><li>Destination<\/li><li>Delivery time<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Cater to international customers by using a set of global rules. You choose the countries and regions you&#8217;ll post to and the app does the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An integrated address finder is standard on many websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Multi-carrier shipping software brings this powerful tool to your online store. It looks professional and works to deliver the best price. What&#8217;s not to love?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Communicate When You Integrate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Choosing the right tool for the job builds customer confidence. By offering several delivery options and prices, cart conversions will increase with trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An order doesn&#8217;t end after payment. Customers want to track their purchases and be&nbsp;notified of their progress. Make that process is as simple as possible and make sure they&#8217;re informed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many e-commerce shipping integration solutions available online. Make sure you select one which offers everything highlighted in this post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Integration = Communication = Better business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember to read more of our blog posts&nbsp;about&nbsp;selling online. From articles on e-commerce to branding, we can help grow your business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do your customers abandon their carts because of delivery? Are your shipping prices too high? Do you offer 24-hour delivery? Are international orders are a no-no because you can&#8217;t fulfill them? Studies show that within three years,&nbsp;same-day delivery will become standard. The majority of customers expect free delivery&nbsp;and want it now. A successful shipping strategy&nbsp;should [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6106"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6106"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6108,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6106\/revisions\/6108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}