The times we’re living in have everything available with a simple tap on our mobile devices, whether buying or selling. That is how online shopping and selling have both become easier than ever.
But online shopping is a failure if the ordered product doesn’t reach the customer on the right day, at the right time. In short, a customer’s satisfaction matters the most.
Here is exactly where shipping in eCommerce comes to the front and centre because a single failed shipment can cause doubts, anxiety, and trust issues in the mind of any customer, which can turn into the worst nightmare for any brand.
How exactly and what can be done to prevent this nightmare? This blog is here to save you! From shipping to problematic COD delays and RTOs, let’s learn everything about eCommerce shipping.
What is eCommerce Shipping?
eCommerce shipping is about the process of delivering a purchased product from an online merchant to an end customer. Just remember that one fine day, when your new phone finally arrives at your doorstep without any delay, that’s when the shipping is working without flaws.
Let’s understand this with an example. Let’s suppose you are a seller based in Meerut, selling your handmade home decor items online, and a customer sitting in a different city would love to buy your goods. Now, this is where you would need a courier service provider who can deliver your product from Meerut to anywhere in India.
A few things are very important for a product to be shipped from one place to another, be it within a city, inter-city, inter-state, or internationally. First, the PIN code, which is a serviceable area where a courier service provider can deliver your goods. Second is the type of product.
Easily movable goods are easy to ship, but if the goods are bulkier and fall under the hazardous category, then certain restrictions will apply. And then, there are many other factors such as the product’s weight, etc.
Types of eCommerce Shipping Services
1. Standard Shipping
Standard shipping, or economy shipping, is a general category for online sellers and buyers. This type of shipping is best for products such as clothing, home décor accessories, books, and more. It is usually low-cost and has flexible delivery timeframes depending on the destination and the courier service chosen.
2. Express Shipping
Express shipping allows faster delivery of orders compared to standard shipping, which is best for low-priority goods. Therefore, this type of delivery can cost you more. Moreover, it enables the shipping of goods of priority faster, such as gifts, medicinal products, and pharmaceuticals, etc.
3. Same-Day and Next-Day Delivery or SDD/NDD
Same-day delivery is best for delivering an order on the same day as it was purchased by the buyer. Similarly, next-day delivery ensures the buyer gets the product the day after the purchase date.
SDD/NDD is a popular type these days, and it’s mostly common in quick commerce, which works only in a limited area or locality. So if you’re using Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, or you name it, that’s the SDD/NDD working for you.
4. Domestic Shipping in India
Domestic shipping is basically the delivery of a product within the same country. This type of delivery is crucial for Indian eCommerce businesses that sell products to local consumers across different states and cities.
For instance, an online seller based in Delhi may get an order from Bengaluru. Hence, will have to hire a domestic courier partner to deliver the ordered items to the customer based in a different Indian state.
Before choosing a shipping company, the online retailer must check its delivery coverage area, shipping cost, courier partners (if the partner is an aggregator), and other crucial details.
How to Choose an eCommerce Shipping Partner?
While choosing a courier delivery service for your shipping needs, you need to consider more than just shipping rates.
1. Delivery Coverage
It is one of the most crucial factors for an eCommerce seller to consider when choosing a courier service provider for shipping needs. The more coverage they have to offer, the better it is for your brand’s reach.
2. Shipping Rates
Your chosen shipping partner should offer custom and competitive rates. As an online seller, you must compare multiple courier services before making a choice. And please make sure that they are not charging you any extra or hidden costs.
3. Shipment Tracking
Shipment tracking is a must for you to keep track of your orders. Never compromise on this factor while choosing a courier partner, because order visibility is important in the shipping process; without it, the RTO rate can be higher, and you would never want that!. So make sure your courier partner has solid order tracking to offer.
4. Customer Support
Whether it is a domestic or international delivery for an order, problems always arise; hence, customer care is crucial. For example, the customer may not be available to receive the order in certain scenarios. Therefore, the delivery partner needs to provide the necessary support, including managing claims, returns, and refunds.
Let’s Understand eCommerce Shipping Rates
Calculating delivery rates becomes a mandatory task for online sellers who sell their products online or buy from online retailers to resell them on their websites. Therefore, as an online seller, you must be familiar with normal market rates so that your chosen courier partner doesn’t fool you with unfair rates.
There are some factors that determine the costs involved in delivering an order, like package weight and size, the product’s volumetric weight, delivery address, and speed of delivery. Extra services such as insuring the item or returning it can result in additional charges. Alternatively, a business should compare all the charges listed to know the final shipping cost that they’ll pay to their chosen shipping aggregator provider.
Importance of eCommerce Packaging
Proper packing protects the goods throughout the shipping process. Inappropriate packing before handing your parcel to the courier company damages the products and adversely affects the business, as buyers can cancel the order, leading to losses.
Packing depends on the type of goods a customer has purchased; therefore, each item should have a separate, well-packed box. Fragile items, like glass products and gadgets, require a firm box with foam padding, whereas clothes can come in a protective mailer. It is important to choose a suitable cardboard box or corrugated box with dimensions ideal for the item to avoid damage during shipping.
Before sealing the box, you must note the customer’s name and address on the label. Inaccurate address labelling can lead to higher RTOs and more NDR inefficiencies.
What is Cash on Delivery?
Cash on Delivery (COD) or COD shipping refers to a transaction type where a customer pays an amount for a product once they receive the order, as per the agreed terms between a seller and a customer.
Some buyers are more comfortable paying with cash on delivery while buying online. Enabling such payments can allow a customer to have multiple choices while paying for a product. However, during COD transactions, the customer may reject an order on the spot while receiving it. So it has its own pluses and minuses.
Alternatively, a customer might not be available at the time of delivery, resulting in high RTOs (Return to Origin) and additional costs for the seller. So, before considering cash on delivery payments, you must consider products, customers, and the overall history of orders.
Why are eCommerce Shipping Returns Important?
The online store owner must keep in mind that a customer may want to return a product for various reasons such as a faulty item, receiving an incorrect order, or a change of mind.
This is where reverse logistics comes in, which is basically shipping a product back to its source. Therefore, having a clearly defined return policy, including an explicit statement regarding returned items, the time allowed for returns, and who bears the cost of shipping, is very important.
In addition, a seller may check if a returned product is received in proper condition and ensure it is eligible for a refund or exchange depending on the nature and price of the item. Such policies are essential for clothes, electronics, and products whose resold condition depends on their physical appearance.
To Conclude
The right choice of your eCommerce courier partner can make a big difference in your business’ growth. It plays an important role in everything, starting from your courier cost and reliability to the speed of delivery and customers’ overall experience.
With ShipMaxx, a D2C shipping service offered by ShipMaxx360, you can eliminate all these challenges and much more with our platform that offers you 15+ courier partners, 28K+ pin code coverage, faster COD payouts, AI-powered NDR management, shipment tracking, branded WhatsApp order updates, and much more.
From new-age startups to established brands, ShipMaxx360 offers a tech-enabled, full-stack growth ecosystem, covering everything from warehousing to growth marketing solutions for all-scale brands in India.