Which Product Shipping Strategy Is Right for Your Store?

Since processes can vary depending on the business, what’s right for one store may not be for another. However when it comes to planning a competitive product shipping strategy, there’s one thing all business owners want.

And that is a strategy that cuts into their margins as little as possible yet remains attractive to customers. With this in mind, here are a few different ones to consider:

Charging Flat Rate Fees Based on Average Shipping Costs

Unless you’re selling extra-large or oversized items, this can be a good strategy for sellers. However, it requires additional preparation.

Basically you’ll need to decide the best way to calculate a flat rate for your business:

Same flat rate for every package (good for similar-sized products)
Varying flat rates, dependent on weight ranges and order totals

After some testing, you’ll be able to pinpoint the ideal shipping price(s) for your products thus avoiding over- or undercharging your customers.

Providing Live-Rate Pricing Directly From a Carrier Service

Are you looking to make a profit from your product shipping strategy? You shouldn’t be.

As such, a particularly effective strategy for sellers operating in competitive markets is to charge customers what you get charged by the third party. This gives them the best possible rates and helps you cover the costs.

Offering Free Shipping to Add a Powerful Marketing Punch

Shipping and handling fees are one of the main factors driving cart abandonment. On the other hand, offering free shipping gets the customers attention!

It gives them the incentive to shop, improves their experience, and leads to increased conversions—all of which are also prime objectives of a good marketing plan.

But free shipping can cut into your profit, depending on your margins and your niche. So you may want to consider minimum order requirements or slight price increases to cover costs—while also keeping a close eye on what your competitors are charging.

Conclusion

It’s important to do the research and calculate costs to see what will work best for your business. In the end, though, it doesn’t matter which product shipping strategy you choose. What does matter is that it, like your business in general, be focused on improving retention rates, quality of service, and overall customer satisfaction.