eCommerce Shipping & Fulfillment Could Be Killing Your Sales

It amazes me how many companies overlook the importance of logistics when it comes to eCommerce. We often get requests for new features and other methods of improving traffic with a lack of realization that shipping and fulfillment could be the biggest problem they face.
The largest eCommerce site in the United States by far is Amazon, who provides one day, and free two-day shipping to Amazon Prime members. How many sites are even remotely close to competing with this?
In today’s day and age, consumers want to know when they can expect their delivery. They would like updates and emails telling them when their order is shipped, and when it might arrive. In fact over half of customers want hyper local same day shipping and 85% want 1 to 3 day shipping!
 

 
Building a clear logistically path for the consumer, from the time they are just browsing to completion of fulfillment will lead to the most possible success.
It might not be easy to offer incredible shipping like Walmart or Amazon, but even a step in the right direction is a start
Notice how Walmart is pushing harder and harder to offer free two-day shipping. The fact of the matter is that two-day shipping is now the status quo, and if you are way behind, well, your sales might just fall way behind…!
 

 

So what can you do about it?

• Look at fulfillment centers: Solutions like Hublogix and others can automate your connection to fulfillment centers that can help you ship more quickly than you would be able to on your own.
• Invest in automation: Automation between your ERP and other back office systems can help you update your orders and customer regarding their products shipments. It may also help you become more profitable and efficient so that you can reduce shipping costs and lower shipping rates for your customers.
• Offer many shipping options: Offering many shipping options is a necessity in today’s modern world, customers want choices and may want to decide between spending less for slower shipping or spending more if they are in a rush to get the product.
• Update product information & checkout flow to reflect shipping information and logistics: Consumers expect to see shipping options and fulfillment details on the product and checkout flow. If they have no idea when to expect the item, they may be turned off to the risk of the unknown.
• Automate transactional emails to have tracking and logistics information: Businesses and consumers want to be updated about when their product is arriving. Updating the tracking details for the customer is critical to their shipping expectations.
• Improve customer account pages to track orders and shipments: Your customers may want to login to their account to see where there order is at. Updating the account pages to show the fulfillment process will help ensure customers have the peace of mind they want with eCommerce.