1. 2-day shipping
Thanks to Amazon Prime, 2-day shipping has become synonymous with online shopping and a highly requested ecommerce shipping solution. This type of premium shipping may only seem accessible to ecommerce giants, but there are ways for all businesses to offer 2-day shipping to their customers without breaking the bank.
Learn How To Offer Affordable 2-Day Shipping
2. Same-day delivery
Same-day delivery guarantees your order will be delivered on the same day it’s purchased. 61% of consumers are willing to pay more for this shipping speed. Successfully executing on same-day delivery requires coordinated operations, resources, courier services, and technology.
3. Overnight shipping
When two-day shipping is the norm, how can ecommerce brands stand out? Enter overnight shipping: a shipping method that guarantees customers will receive their order on the next business day. Different carriers offer different overnight shipping services at different price points.
4. Expedited shipping
Expedited shipping refers to any shipping method faster than standard ground. The exact turnaround for expedited orders can vary depending on the carrier and shipping services. Offering expedited shipping can help your online store reduce shopping cart abandonment, meet customer expectations, and build customer loyalty with effective ecommerce shipping solutions.
“We can compete with platforms where customers are looking for 2-day shipping, great customer service, and a product that does what it’s expected to do. ShipBob helps us deliver on our customer expectations, and they are continually evolving and getting our products into our customers hands’ faster and faster.”
Matt Dryfhout, Founder & CEO of BAKblade
5. International shipping
Whether you’re based in the US and looking to expand globally or located overseas and want to begin shipping within the US, international shipping can be challenging and expensive for any business.
Different countries have different regulations, tariffs and taxes, and requirements for incoming shipments, so it’s important to find experienced fulfillment partners who can not only help you navigate the Universal Postal Union (UPU) agreement and international shipping but also provide affordable shipping rates.
For example, ShipBob is a global fulfillment company with physical locations in different countries.
“We’ve seen a reduction of 70% on shipping costs in the US, which helps keep conversions high. When we joined ShipBob, only 20% of our customers were in the US. By the end of the year, that number will be around 40%.”
Greg MacDonald, Founder and CEO of Bathorium
6. Eco-friendly shipping
For eco-friendly brands and customers, eco-friendly shipping is also an option. Eco-friendly shipping includes the use of biodegradable material that can easily be recycled, used for other purposes, and don’t take as long to decompose for packaging and shipping products. There are many eco-friendly packaging solutions available for online brands, such as compostable mailer bags and biodegradable packaging peanuts.
“We use noissue for our eco-friendly mailers that are 100% compostable, and ShipBob ships orders out for us in our custom branded packaging. Our subscription option has become popular among customers, where they subscribe and save money.
We rely on a great post-purchase experience for this. ShipBob is a fulfillment partner that is truly an extension of our brand.”
Manuel de la Cruz, CEO at Boie
7. Hybrid shipping services
Hybrid shipping services like UPS SurePost and FedEx SmartPost pick up your orders and then work with other carriers like USPS to transport your packages to a sorting facility or post office location, where it is then shipped to its final, residential destination. Choosing a hybrid shipping method has the ability to cut down on shipping costs as much as 50% in some cases. However, the tradeoff is often a slower delivery.
8. Freight shipping
At its most basic, freight shipping is the transportation of cargo across the globe via air, land, or sea. Any shipment that is larger than 30 in x 30 in x 30 in or weighs over 150 pounds is considered freight.
Ecommerce businesses use freight shipping to receive inventory from their manufacturer and send product to fulfillment centers or distributors.