Shipping has become a key part of success in the online shopping revolution. Amazon has raised consumer expectations dramatically when it comes to shipping, and etailers have been scrambling to keep up. Because changes occur on a near-daily basis in the shipping world, here are some tips for getting ahead of the game. The faster you can get your goods out the door and into your customers’ hands, the better. Consumers increasingly expect their purchases to arrive quickly, and they’re drawn to two-day, next-day and even same-day shipping offers.
These are excellent ideas. Ship from and to your storeis a great way to take advantage of assets that Amazon and other pure-play ecommerce sites don't have -- stores (except for grocery for Amazon).
Buy Online, pickup in store:
Shoppers purchase online, and can pickup at a local retail location.
* Shoppers win, with immediate gratification and zero shipping costs
* Retailers win, gaining an online sale that others cannot while eliminating shipping costs
* Retailers also win a 20% increase in sales, on average, from customers purchasing additional items while in the store
Ship from Store:
Retailers can, when it suits their needs, ship from a store instead of from the fulfillment center.
* Ship from stores with overstocked items to increase inventory turns
* Ship from stores when the fulfillment centers are low or out of stock, to increase revenue
* Ship from the store closest to the customer, to deliver faster and save on shipping expenses
The challenge: In both cases the ecommerce platform must have real-time access to order and inventory levels across the entire enterprise, including all stores and fulfillment centers.
The solution: Fortunately, today, even mid-market merchants have access to SaaS Order and Inventory Management platforms that enable these capabilities.
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3 Timely E-Commerce Shipping Tips
Posted by: Vivian Wagner October 4, 2017 03:55 PMShipping has become a key part of success in the online shopping revolution. Amazon has raised consumer expectations dramatically when it comes to shipping, and etailers have been scrambling to keep up. Because changes occur on a near-daily basis in the shipping world, here are some tips for getting ahead of the game. The faster you can get your goods out the door and into your customers’ hands, the better. Consumers increasingly expect their purchases to arrive quickly, and they’re drawn to two-day, next-day and even same-day shipping offers.
Buy Online, pickup in store:
Shoppers purchase online, and can pickup at a local retail location.
* Shoppers win, with immediate gratification and zero shipping costs
* Retailers win, gaining an online sale that others cannot while eliminating shipping costs
* Retailers also win a 20% increase in sales, on average, from customers purchasing additional items while in the store
Ship from Store:
Retailers can, when it suits their needs, ship from a store instead of from the fulfillment center.
* Ship from stores with overstocked items to increase inventory turns
* Ship from stores when the fulfillment centers are low or out of stock, to increase revenue
* Ship from the store closest to the customer, to deliver faster and save on shipping expenses
The challenge: In both cases the ecommerce platform must have real-time access to order and inventory levels across the entire enterprise, including all stores and fulfillment centers.
The solution: Fortunately, today, even mid-market merchants have access to SaaS Order and Inventory Management platforms that enable these capabilities.
Manish Chowdhary, CEO, https://www.pulse-commerce.com