In the past few years, ecommerce business owners have experienced various issues with the shipping and delivery process.
It is evident that shipping issues and problems with the supply line around the world are not likely to be solved soon, but you can reduce the amount of damage they cause by getting prepared in advance and taking the appropriate measures.
Merchants understand that they need to start getting ready for the holiday shopping season much earlier than Black Friday when it formally commences.
We are offering assistance to you in assessing your current shipping plan, recognizing areas that require alteration, and getting you ready for the upcoming holiday period.
Step 1: Optimize Your Mobile Site
Making purchases through a smartphone (commonly referred to as m-commerce) has seen a dramatic increase in the last several years. A study has announced that mobile eCommerce sales in retail had a jump of 15.2% in 2021, reaching almost 360 billion dollars compared to 2020. eCommerce should make up 44.2% of total retail eCommerce sales by the year 2025.
Given these statistics, it would be careless to overlook your mobile website. Prior to the festive period, collaborate with your coders to inspect your mobile site to guarantee it has been perfected. Some things to look out for include the following:
Make sure your mobile store setup is as basic and useful as it can be. You can create a simplified version of the desktop version of your site that includes all of the recognizable elements of your organization. Furthermore, construct checkout procedures and employ payment methods special to mobile commerce. Customers should be able to quickly and easily add items to their cart and proceed straight to checkout.
Make the navigation on your store straightforward so customers can easily locate the products they need. Make sure the search bar and menu are prominently displayed so that customers can locate them quickly. Enlarge your call to action buttons and articulate their purpose clearly. This involves utilizing the “Add to Cart” or “Sign Up” call-to-action.
Create a user-friendly experience: Utilize responsive and adaptive designs to improve the speed of the mobile website and retain customer interest. Engaging in these procedures can provide extensive rewards, like improving your position in search engines, which can result in natural web traffic coming to your website.
When it comes to creating a user-friendly experience on mobile devices, keep in mind the “mobile thumb zone” rule. The limit to what mobile users can do is dictated by how far their thumb can reach. The bottom right corner is where most activities happen. Ensure that the significant control buttons, such as the “add to cart” button, are positioned in that area.
Make use of social media: A great number of mobile activities take place on social media sites; luckily, you have the ability to sell straight to customers using social trading. You can create a shop within your profiles on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram which will enable shoppers to purchase items without leaving the respective social media platform. Social media makes it easier for customers to buy your products and doesn’t add any additional expenses.
Step 2: Manage Your Inventory
Proper administration of inventory is necessary in order to ensure a hassle-free customer experience and to reduce business costs.
If eCommerce businesses adequately ready themselves, they can steer clear of having either too meager or excessive inventory, both of which can have a detrimental effect on their profits during the festive period. You should get ready for the holiday shopping time of year by making sure your inventory is in equilibrium; have the right amount of items to accommodate the higher customer demand, and prevent excess merchandise. Here’s how to do that:
Examine the figures and patterns: Investigate your past sales records from past holiday times to help formulate your stock. Examine the top-selling items from the most recent shopping period and take note of buyers’ preferences for particular brands. Which of your products has been sought after this year? Think about reducing the inventory of goods that are not typically popular during the holiday season, and focus more energy and resources on those goods that sell quickly.
In order to keep sales moving and prevent inventory from accumulating, it is important to maintain communication with the marketing group and devise fresh strategies for endorsing your items. Gain a greater understanding of your customer base in order to determine how effectively you can encourage them to buy more. Creating a lot of hype surrounding the items being sold or offering them in a bundle deal at a reduced cost can motivate buyers to buy.
To avoid disasters, you should constantly conduct inventory audits. This will assist you in keeping the necessary amount of inventory and ensuring that you are not ordering too few or too many products from your vendors. This can be achieved through the use of stock control software that is connected to your online shopping system.
It is essential to make sure we recognize how vital it is to comprehend the required amount of product needed, especially during the holidays as it can be hard to prognosticate. Thus, having a strategy to handle stockouts and unsold merchandise is key. It is essential that you develop a strategy to deal with stock shortages and excess stocks.
Keep a record of how fast your stock is selling and pay attention to what people are buying in order to prevent shortages. This is useful for predicting when you might run out of inventory prior to the conclusion of the holidays and ensuring that you can restock in a timely manner. A similar approach can help you foresee a buildup of unsold goods, motivating you to adjust your advertising scheme or lower prices to avoid having leftover inventory.
Step 3: Get a Handle on Shipping
Business owners have a plethora of shipping possibilities to choose from. Be sure to have a plan of action in place before the deadline draws near rather than waiting until the last second. First, examine how you’ll actually be handling shipping logistically. Here are a few different options available to you. Choose a single option that suits your needs, or use a combination of several if necessary.
In-house shipping.
Many small and mid-sized online stores find that managing the shipping process internally is a great option. Given the increasing demand and longer shifts, it would be wise to take some things into account before opting to take on the entire fulfillment process by yourself.
Pros:
- More control of your shipping process.
- Easier communication between fulfillment and customer support.
- Lower cost than third-party logistics (3PL).
- No need to integrate with a 3PL system.
Cons:
- Extra costs like labor and warehousing.
- You’ll spend less time growing your business.
- You might not have as much knowledge about shipping and logistics as a specialist company.
Choosing a carrier that’s right for you.
There are numerous transportation selections that are accessible to entrepreneurs during the festive season for sending, however, the three leading options supply a selection of assistance that may simplify your delivery procedure.
USPS
The U.S. The Postal Service is an advantageous choice for small businesses due to its stable pricing and simple-to-understand directions.
There are four postal services you can use for shipping: Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, First-Class Mail, and Retail Mail, which is specially designed for retail customers to get the lowest prices.
FedEx
Although costing more than USPS, you can be confident that your package is being shipped by one of the foremost companies for international delivery.
Options for transporting goods include Express Delivery, Ground Transportation, International Delivery, Same-Day Service, and Freight Movement for larger items.
UPS
UPS provides a wide variety of choices for both domestic and international shipping. UPS has a variety of shipping solutions from third-party fulfillment services to freight shipping to cater to any kind of requirement.
Think beyond traditional shipping options.
The modern-day consumer wants to get their packages fast. It is not necessarily true that immediate or same-day delivery is the most suitable choice. Options such as buying online and then picking up in the store are becoming an essential part of any comprehensive shipping plan. Just ask our friends at Silk Software.
Outsource shipping and fulfillment to a third party.
Increased order volume comes with added costs. Rather than putting a lot of energy and resources into getting your location and staff ready for a spike in business over the holidays, it may be more beneficial to outsource extra inventory to a fulfillment company. Consider outsourcing your fulfillment services to a 3PL.
Using a third-party fulfillment service may appear daunting, however, as long as you examine customer feedback and carry out adequate research, you should have no difficulty locating one that is reliable and compatible with your company.
Outsource shipping with a drop shipper.
Drop shipping is a business structure used in e-commerce where retailers don’t store the products they offer for sale. They acquire their merchandise from an external producer instead of making it themselves. The manufacturer will then send the inventory to either the end purchaser or a committed drop shipper.
Pros:
- It’s easy and affordable.
Since you’re not maintaining inventory or dealing with customer delivery yourself, you can cut back on expenses. You only need to cover the expenses of production and storage charges in advance. In general, charges are only imposed once a product is purchased.
- It requires a smaller warehouse.
No matter if you are beginning to dip your toes into the ecommerce ocean or are aiming to increase and expand beyond your warehouse operations and personnel requirements, dropshipping allows you to run your business with a lessened storage facility and fewer manpower.
Cons:
- Lower profit margins.
Shipping costs can be a factor when using dropshipping, which may decrease the potential gains you could be making if you stored and shipped products on your own.
- Finding the right supplier.
The key to a successful dropshipping business is locating the ideal supplier. The returns from dropshipping are slim and when you utilize a subscription wholesaler you are essentially paying a go-between that leaves you with very few profits.
Step 4: Customer Shipping Options
Once you’ve determined the means by which you’ll physically deliver the good or service to the customer and added up the costs connected to it, it’s time to ponder the delivery choices you’ll make available during the ordering process.
Tracking for holiday shipments.
Having knowledge of an item’s location when it is sent during the holidays is essential. Customers not only want to receive your product as quickly as possible but also want the assurance that deliveries will happen on time. You can quickly and easily include this option in your notification emails –– especially if you use BigCommerce to make shipping labels –– since most delivery services have it as part of their service.
Free shipping for the holidays.
Customers are always searching for the most beneficial offerings. That doesn’t always mean the lowest price. Fees and shipping charges that are added on can be a huge deterrence for customers. The simplest solution to prevent this would be to provide free delivery. You can include the cost of shipment into the price of the product without the customer being aware, however, there are numerous aspects that must be taken into account when deciding the worth of free shipping. Determine the most effective solution for your company and its profits.
Offer same-day or next-day shipping.
How terrible would it be if a present showed up just before the special occasion? A product arriving the day after. No one desires to show up to the holiday season having nothing to give, so providing accelerated shipment to customers can assuage some of the holiday shipping nervousness. This will cost you and your customer additional money, but on occasion clients are willing to invest more for the comfort it provides.
Personalize The Customer Experience
As outlined in a recent report, the majority of consumers anticipate that businesses will provide personalized service. Although operating an online business does not typically allow for a personal connection with customers, the information they provide can be utilized in order to give them the kind of experience and interaction that they expect.
Here’s how you can do that without breaking a sweat:
Personalized recommendations: General products will not impress many customers. When constructing your advertisements, discounts, or executing advertising strategies, direct your group of people based on what piques their curiosity. This will assist in reducing their possibilities and lead to quicker transformations.
When you offer the client multiple selections, they may become stressed out and exit your page. Offering noteworthy deals at apt times will make your customers inclined to return to your business often.
Provide information about the product: People need more details about what you are offering before they decide to buy it. While a product description is suitable for those individuals who have already decided to make the purchase, it isn’t effective in introducing your brand to those who are encountering it for the first time. Generate various web materials that customers can engage with to get more information about you and your products. This is a great chance for you to demonstrate your proficiency and establish a trusting relationship.
Remain consistent in all areas of marketing: Spread the same message about your goods during the festive season across all communication avenues. It is expected that customers will come into contact with your product at various points in their purchasing expedition.
There is a chance that any divergence from the plan could dissuade them. If you’ve got a brick-and-mortar store or store in the real world, devise a way to give customers a bespoke experience even when they are shopping online.
Provide exceptional service to customers: During the Holiday season, people are out purchasing products. As more people make purchases, it will lead to an increase in issues that require you to take action. Giving priority to responding to your customers’ queries and ensuring they have a remarkable experience should be your main focus.
Be courteous, accommodating, and clear when confronting grievances from clients; show endurance and be open to solutions. It is imperative that you make sure to offer superb customer service during this season by using customer care tools in order to prevent any adverse reviews concerning your company.
Wrapping Up
Ready or not, the holiday buying season is here. You won’t ever be completely ready for the hectic ecommerce season annually, but taking these tips can help the process run more efficiently.
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