3 Quick Ways to Save Money on Shipping.

Posted March 4, 2020

In eCommerce, Fulfillment, Shipping, Supply Chain

According to Statista, eCommerce sales have steadily increased every year since 2017 and are projected to grow from 365 Billion to a staggering 600 Billion over the next 4 years. With this immense growth and the ease of shopping with eCommerce, shoppers are buying more online. eCommerce technology is at a stage where consumers are confident and feel safe buying online. It’s a great time to be in eCommerce!

Consumers buy more and shippers ship more. Consumers expect better, faster and cheaper shipping. Most online shoppers expect their packages to be delivered as fast as possible, but 3 to 5 days is pretty standard. Shipping has become a crucial service for online retail sales.

Here are 3 quick ways to Save Money on Shipping.

1. Make DIM Weight an Advantage

Trying your best to package your products in correctly sized boxes is no easy feat. You need to make sure there isn’t too much empty space but at the same time need to ensure your products don’t get squeezed in tight packaging. You can actually save with DIM weight when you use smaller boxes. The savings could go up to 50% or more as you save on the boxes as well as the DIM weight.

If you manufacture your own product or if you can work with your manufacturer, consider redesigning your product or packaging to have a smaller DIM weight. It will pay off in the long run. If you can’t do that, then definitely consider the size of your packaging. The bigger the dimensions of the packaging, the higher the DIM weight and its shipment cost.

2. Make up for the costs of “Free” Shipping

With online marketplaces like Amazon and other big box retailers offering Free Shipping as a standard service, most consumers now expect free shipping from all online retailers. Shoppers don’t realize that free shipping costs are always factored into the final price of most products. There’s really no such thing a free shipping.

So, offer free shipping but make sure that you factor the shipping costs into the price of your products. It may or may not work for you. It all depends on the type of product you sell. For example, luxury goods sellers offer free shipping as standard because they have a great price point and brand loyalty is already in their favor.

The devil is in the details as they say, so don’t confuse Free Shipping with Fast Shipping! Analyze your product price points and shipping plans and then figure out how you can offer Free Shipping that is somewhat fast too. For example, if you sell your product for $23.95 and charge $5 for shipping, it is much better to price your product at $29.99 and offer Free Shipping. It is psychologically proven to be a better pricing strategy.

Related: Shipping and Reverse Logistics

3. Ship Customer Orders As Fast As Possible

The time taken to Pick, Pack and Ship customer orders will, most of the time, dictate if you offer fast or slow shipping. If you take a day or two to pack your product and then drop them off at the post office, you may have to use expedited shipping so that your customer receives their package in about 3 to 4 days. That means it takes 5 to 6 days for your customer to receive their package. That is simply unacceptable for most customers. Make it a priority to get the package out on the same day that it was ordered. Then you could use regular (cheaper) shipping instead of expedited shipping and your product will reach your customer within 3 to 5 days.

So, the quicker you ship orders out, the faster your customers receive their packages, and the lower your shipping costs too. Advertise your quicker order processing times on your online store. Let your customers know that you ship orders out the same day (with our same day shipping) or multiple times a day. It will increase sales and directly affect your bottom line.

Bonus Tip: Outsource Order Fulfillment to Elite OPS

Elite OPS is an eCommerce Order Fulfillment company with more than 25 years of experience in the fulfillment industry. Thousands of products and picked packed and shipped daily. Save time and money on shipping with us. As a large volume shipper, we get bulk discounts from shippers and shipping supply companies. Our negotiated rates with UPS and FedEx are much lower than what any single eCommerce retailer could get.

We Pass all these Savings on to Our Clients and help them Save Money on Shipping.

Bottom Line

As consumers demand free and fast shipping, you must provide it or your competitors will. These very easy to implement basic tips will ensure that your shipping costs are low and at the same time will get you more customers as their demands are met.

Elite OPS has been a leader in Shipping and Logistics for over 25 years. Contact Us to find out how we can help you Save Time and Money on Procurement as a Service, eCommerce Order Fulfillment, and Kitting and Assembly.