Ever stuck in a dilemma of what if the shipment ordered online does not reach the users at the stipulated time? Imagine if an irate customer has been following up with regards to his shipment that you missed or delayed. That’s indeed an unpleasant thought, isn’t it?
There may be others contemplating similar fears. Some of your customers will complete their delivery details on the internet and not think about it again until it arrives. But many want to be aware of where their order is throughout the shipping process. This is where a proficient shipping and delivery process comes into the picture.
All About Shipping
Literally speaking, when we physically move the goods from one place to another, we can call it shipping. The goods are generally stored in a warehouse from where they are collected and delivered to the respective clients. There are various forms of shipping like ground shipping, air shipping, shipping done by sea, etc.
Out of all these, we can consider ground shipping to be the cheapest with air shipping being the most expensive mode of shipping. Shipping by the sea is the most cost-effective way to deliver the goods. However, it is slow and takes longer to deliver. Shipping costs depend on the number of deliverables too. The larger the number of goods to be delivered, the cheaper it is!
If you have an online ecommerce store that is devoid of suitable shipping option, the customers visiting your website will turn their backs on you. To avoid this scenario, you can provide the customers with lucrative options like the Australia post shipping extension in Magento. Moreover, there are several other add-ons and extensions for expanding the default shipping options for your ecommerce website which can assist you in this regard.
In today’s post, I will introduce you to some basic shipping tips and tricks for your store. Continue reading to find out more. Now, we are already well versed with what shipping is as well the different modes of shipping. Moving ahead, let us consider giving a thought on some tips and tricks for shipping.
Basic Shipping Tips and Tricks
1. Shipment Tracking
Once any customer places an order on the website, he is anxious and eager to receive his order as early as possible. To ensure him speedy delivery, you can facilitate the shipment tracking option to them. This can be possible if we purchase any shipment tracking extension. There are various extensions available in the market, with Australia post shipping extension leading the league. This will help the customer to track the delivery details.
Include this tool with your ecommerce store and offer multiple shipping options. You can also provide different delivery methods, set shipping handling charges, offer shipment tracking etc. Retailers can now make a hassle-free delivery to domestic as well as global destinations. This will, in turn, bring a smile to the face of the customers.
2. Multi Locale Shipment
This is mostly the case during vacations and holidays when the customer is not available to home. Providing this facility will attract many customers to your website enhancing the customer’s shopping experience. To ensure this facility, you need to purchase any shipping address extension which will allow the customers to split the delivery address for the purchased products. You can enable the extension by setting up the handling fee and warehouse postcode. In addition, the admin is in charge to check if a signature is required after delivery.
3. Pickup from Local Warehouse
Another option that a customer can avail on your ecommerce would be to pick up his product delivery from a nearby local warehouse. What happens in this method is simple! The customer will pick up the product from your warehouse. How will this be beneficial to you, you think? You save your time and efforts to ship the product. The customer can go and collect the product from the warehouse if he wishes to get the delivery quickly.
To add a cherry on the cake, you can also provide discounts on the items that the customer collects from the local warehouse.
4. Weight and Dimensions of a Product
Have you ever given this a thought as to how is a product priced before we ship it? Let me tell you. Before you think about determining the cost of shipping on a product purchased, the actual weight along with the dimensional weight of the package will be the main factors. What is the difference between the actual weight and the dimensional weight you may ask.
Actual weight is that weight which we consider to be the overall weight of the packaged product. Dimensional weight is in short, the density of the box. You can find the dimensional weight of your box by multiplying the length by the width by the height, then dividing that by 166 for domestic packages. The end price that we consider as a shipping price will either be the actual weight or dimensional weight – whichever is greater.
5. Get the Shipping Address Verified
Heading out for delivery in any season is tiring. To top it up, imagine you have reached the location of delivery and come to know that the address is invalid. It is frustrating as well as annoying. More so, you not only have to take the product back to the warehouse undelivered but resend it to the right address.
To avoid this situation, you may give the customer the option of an address validator. Address validator does not accept any invalid address entered by you. This helps to avoid the hassle of delivering the product to the wrong location. This will also allow you to ensure timely delivery for your customers.
Conclusion
There are various shipping options available in the market to opt for if your ecommerce business is based anywhere in the world. By integrating different extensions and plugins, you can save much on your time and efforts. There is no need to go to the site time and again to set up delivery for each of the shipments. I hope this article will help you understand shipping well and utilise the tips and tricks efficiently.
