E-commerce Delivery: Strategy and Solutions to Consider

During the pandemic, online sales of global retail have grown to 15%, which is twice more than it was in 2018. Over the past couple of years, the share of Gen X and Millennial users who prefer to shop online has reached more than 50%. By 2030, the global delivery market is predicted to be more than $90 billion, which is nearly $80 billion more than it was in 2018.

E-commerce business owners can surely expect further sales increases. E-commerce delivery is becoming more important than it has ever been. Sellers who fail to properly organize the delivery of their products risk losing even the most loyal customers.

E-commerce delivery statistics and the analysis of customer preferences conducted in 2020 give businesses some excellent reasons to consider going online:

• More than 15 billion deliveries were done for over 700 million people.
• The cost of 1 cubic meter of delivery was $6.4.
• The average delivery time was no more than 5 days.
• 70% of shoppers opted for free delivery or the cheapest shipping option.
• 23% of online shoppers were ready to pay additional shipping costs to get same day delivery tracking, and 44% were ready to wait up to 2 days.
• More than 90% of buyers wanted to receive updated information about the status of their order.
• And the most interesting thing is that 98.1% of customers would not come back to an online store after the first unsuccessful delivery.

E-commerce delivery trends in different areas of life:

• In 2030, the percentage of furniture items delivered to different customers all over the US is predicted to be at least 32%.
• From 2019 to 2020, the volume of groceries that were delivered or self-picked up has increased by $6 billion.
• Due to the pandemic, at least 40% of shoppers ordered food online. The market will have reached at least $180 billion in sales by 2024. 34% of customers are willing to pay up to $50 for online food delivery.
• The demand for drug delivery is growing by an average of 17.3% per year, and the size of the e-pharmacy market in the United States will be at least $170 billion by 2026.

Almost half of the US companies use sustainable logistics tools, but 35% of their competitors have not yet announced their intention to develop reliable e-commerce delivery solutions. At least 50% of companies are ready to increase their investments in e-commerce automation. Thus, the future of e-commerce delivery looks very promising.

E-commerce Delivery Services: Things to Consider

The demand for e-commerce delivery implementation and maintenance is growing every day. We work with every new customer individually and offer an e-commerce delivery strategy that will meet the specifics of their business. Keep reading to see our recommendations.

Shipping price strategy

What goals do you aim for when implementing e-commerce delivery management software into your online store? These could be

• Increasing the conversion.
• Increasing the reach of the target audience.
• Increasing the average check from each client.
• Minimizing the costs.

All of this determines your shipping price strategy.

What influences shipping cost?

How to start an e-commerce delivery business and bring your products to the national and international market? First of all, you need to know what factors influence the carriers when they determine the cost of their services.

• Size and weight of the package. The priority is DIM-weight, which is the indicator based on the height, width, and length of the package. If the actual weight of the package is more than the standard one, the shipping cost will be calculated based on the actual weight.
• Time of delivery. Many customers are ready to pay additional costs for fast shipping.
• Final delivery point. The further the final destination is, the more expensive the delivery will be.
• Import duties for cross-border shipping.
• There can be some additional charges for deliveries to hard-to-reach regions or weekend delivery. Additional charges may be applied for the delivery of non-standard cargo with increased weight and/or dimensions.
• Most online shoppers like to have insurance and are willing to pay a special delivery tracking cost. The client will need to pay extra to have a guarantee of reliable delivery.
• The declared value is the maximum amount of the carrier's liability for damage. The declared value can be the same as the price of the purchase, or it can be lower at the client's request. Some carriers have a fixed limit on their liability. For example, FedEx will reimburse no more than $100 regardless of the item's declared value.

Key types of shipping fees

• Free shipping: This is the most attractive factor for most customers, but it should be economically viable. For example, you can offer free shipping on orders over $100. In this case, the difference between the trade margin and the actual cost of delivery should cover all other costs. Choose an operator that offers the lowest prices for transportation within the region of your interest. If you are not ready to provide free shipping for the entire product, select certain product groups or determine the minimum purchase amount. If you think through your strategy, the free shipping will guarantee an increase in your average check and sales and the number of loyal customers.
• Flat rate & table rate shipping: This format assumes a certain price for the delivery of any item. In this case, you can set one price that will stay the same regardless of the number of items and their price. A fixed price can be set depending on the value of the order. For example, if the order value is less than $50, the delivery cost will be $4, and if the order value is more than $50, the customers will have to pay $10 for the delivery. You can set a standard fee that will depend on the weight. For example: if the weight of the order does not exceed 5 kg, you will need to pay $5 for its delivery, and if it weighs more than that, the cost will be $10.
• Carrier-calculated shipping rates: With a store based on Magento or Shopware, you can add applications with the carrier's e-commerce delivery services program. As a result, your customers will see the exact shipping cost calculated by the carrier in the cart. During the delivery stage, the customer will be able to track the movement of their order. The shipping cost calculated by the carrier will save your online store from possible losses, since you may not always know the exact cost of delivery to all possible locations.
• Mixed and alternative shipping: If you are not ready to offer free shipping for the entire range of products in your online store, create some attractive offers for your customers. For example, while having a standard shipping price, you can also offer same-day delivery.

Multiple shipping options

The vast majority of buyers prefer online stores that offer fast delivery and quick delivery tracking of orders from the warehouse to the final destination, i.e. the consumer. Getting help from several different logistics companies in the e-commerce delivery process is the best way to attract new clients and keep your loyal customers, and, as a result, increase the competitiveness of your online store.

Advantages of e-commerce delivery management with multiple delivery operators:

• Working with multiple carriers will give you the ability to compare prices, routes, and delivery options for your orders. A single operator does not necessarily offer the best terms of cooperation and is not always able to send your supplies everywhere. Give your customers the possibility to choose the carrier that will best suit their preferences. A variety of special delivery tracking systems will automatically increase the number of conversions and, accordingly, the number of sales at your online store.
• An effective solution for extraordinary situations. Some difficulties may appear when you need to send orders to different addresses and destinations around the holidays. Not every e-commerce delivery app can help here. That is why we recommend installing Magento or Shopware to optimize your website for multiple delivery operators.
• More flexibility on returns. Using e-commerce delivery software by Magento or Shopware provides the most comfortable conditions for your customers. In particular, this is convenient if a product needs to be returned.

In the rest of this article, we will discuss how leading cross-border courier services are utilizing delivery methods in e-commerce.

Delivery tracking software

Any online business owner is inspired by the success of Amazon. This highly reputable company works flawlessly and, among other things, offers its customers the best e-commerce delivery services. With our help, you can integrate similar delivery tracking tools into your online store and gain such competitive advantages as

• Less delivery anxiety. Most people, when they make their first order on your website, will be worried about the delivery. The level of anxiety depends on the buyer's personality and often becomes the reason for numerous attempts to contact the support service of your online store. With the help of reliable delivery tracking software all of your customers won’t have to worry and contact your company.
• Reduced cost of customer support. More people will eventually become more interested in your online store. You can manage your customer support service with the help of an outsourcing company or use a bot. Talking about tracking deliveries, we offer a real time delivery tracking app implemented into your website. This automated process will take a big load off your support service staff’s shoulders. Thus, you will have more resources to invest in your business development.
• Increased purchase frequency. Give your customers the ability to control the delivery status without the need to make inquiries all the time. This will certainly increase the number of loyal customers. Customers will be confident that their orders will be delivered, which will lead to an increase of trust in your company.

Product return management

In 2020, the number of returns in the online retail market exceeded $420 billion, which is more than 10% of the global market. Therefore, online store owners need to create comfortable return conditions so that the customers remain loyal to their online stores.

The implementation of reverse logistics will help your business solve any problems automatically. As a result, your online store will meet all of the customer expectations and gain a competitive advantage in the market.

Best Courier Services: Overview

Choosing the best option among the numerous regional delivery service operators is not an easy decision. It is even more difficult when you decide to enter the global market, where there are the world’s leading carriers such as DHL, UPS, USPS, and FedEx. Why do online customers prefer certain operators? What are the pros and cons of these companies?

DHL Express

This German carrier has established itself as one of the leaders in international shipping.

DHL advantages:

• The company has one of the most powerful postal delivery services that operate in every country of the world, including even North Korea.
• DHL actively participates in international and regional environmental programs.
• The company provides B2B delivery tracking and guarantees a refund for returned orders.

DHL disadvantages:

• DHL is unable to deliver goods between US cities by air and therefore works exclusively with ground carriers. Thus the delivery takes more time.
• Often, the client receives a message about their orders having been delivered, when in fact the parcel has only arrived at the courier service.

USPS

This company is owned by the US government.

Advantages:

• It offers cheap delivery compared to other carriers.
• It is perfect for delivering parcels between American merchants and consumers.

Disadvantages:

• USPS is not the fastest carrier on the list. It is better to use another company's services for fast delivery.

UPS

This well-known US brand can be considered the perfect carrier for domestic and international orders.

Advantages:

• The company works with powerful ground carriers.

Disadvantages:

• Unlike its competitors, the company does not provide detailed online shipping status information.

FedEx

This is another American company that offers global and domestic transportation services.

Advantages:

• Refunds for different kinds of disruption and undeliverable orders.
• Transparent global delivery tracking.

Disadvantages:

• The company charges higher prices for its UPS-level service and tracking.

As you can see, it is impossible to choose the absolute best international carrier. Therefore, it is best to cooperate with all these companies.

How to Boost Your Delivery Processes with Magento

The popular Magento delivery tracking system is a handy tool that has different built-in and customizable features.

Magento default delivery features:

• Free shipping. This feature is activated when the purchase exceeds the minimum amount. You can set up free shipping for all countries or a specific country.
• Flat rate shipping. It is better to use this convenient solution for delivering orders in standard packaging. You can set a flat rate per item or for the entire cart. The flat rate may vary depending on the country.
• Table rate shipping. Shipping cost to a specific destination is calculated based on weight, price, and the number of items in the cart. The website administrator can restrict the application of the rate to certain countries.

Best Magento shipping modules

The default Magento shipping options are not always enough to provide an up-to-date shopping experience. Thus, you can always rely on third-party shipping extensions.

Store Pickup

Add the Buy-Online-Pick-Up-in-Store service to Magento and let your customers pick up their orders on their own in the closest offline store. Customers who use the BOPIS service are more likely to make additional purchases.

BOPIS allows you to

• Have several offline stores for pickup.
• Regulate the groups of clients for whom this service will be available.
• Retrieve shipping cost information from the customer's account.

Multi warehouse inventory

Add the inventory management and barcode delivery tracking system services to Magento and manage inventory distributed between your warehouses and offline stores. The service allows you to

• Control the return of a defective product to the supplier, monitor its stock.
• Store and edit information about a product’s availability.
• Create shipments.
• Choose the lowest shipping cost.
• Set individual shipping prices.

Shopware Delivery

This platform offers different rules and delivery options for different purchase channels.

Shopware delivery settings

To create a delivery method, it is enough to perform a few simple steps:

• Select the name of the delivery method.
• Assign the delivery status and its detailed description.
• Select a user-friendly logo for each delivery method.
• Determine the time for each delivery method.
• Fill in the field with the shipping company’s tracking number.

As a result, Shopware will automatically insert an individual code for each order.

When creating a price matrix, you can use the ready-made rules or create new ones. In any case, the price matrix will operate under the delivery method you specified.

Using the context menu, you can copy or delete the created matrix, as well as add new rules to it.

Shopware delivery extensions

Consider the following Shopware extensions to strengthen your delivery capabilities.

DHL shipping FREE

This official extension is designed to instantly find your online store account on the DHL portal. As a result

• Your client receives information about the cost of order delivery.
• PDF delivery and return labels are generated.
• The Shopware administrator receives shipping tracking codes.

DHL return labels

This plugin is designed to process a product return request. The customer uses DHL return labels to create a return receipt and get the DHL label directly from their account.

Same day delivery

The plugin provides the ability to

• Disable the time limit for delivering an order, which means the order will be delivered on the day it is made.
• Select among the proposed shipping costs.
• Pick the final destination of your delivery.
• Select the number of items to be delivered on the same day.

Final Thoughts: E-commerce Delivery

E-commerce delivery is a crucial service that directly impacts business success. Apart from selecting the right courier service, it is important to introduce the right shipping modules into your e-commerce website and make sure they function the right way.

We know what future awaits e-commerce delivery and are always happy to assist you in the development of your online store. Our team has a lot of experience in implementing delivery tracking API. Reach out to us to improve your delivery system.