6 Essential Shipping Tips for E-Commerce Sellers: Avoid Costly Mistakes

1. Compare Shipping Rates: Uncover Hidden Costs

Shipping costs go beyond the rates displayed by carriers. Hidden fees such as weight discrepancies, fuel surcharges, COD charges, and taxes can inflate your expenses. Using a rate calculator allows you to compare shipping costs in real time, accounting for all variables and ensuring you’re not caught off guard.

Key Factors to Analyze:

• Weight Discrepancy Charges: Shipping parters bill based on the higher of actual or volumetric weight. Misunderstanding these calculations can lead to inflated costs.
• Fuel Surcharges: These charges fluctuate with fuel prices and can significantly impact long-distance shipments.
• COD Charges: Cash-on-Delivery fees, charged as a percentage or flat rate, can reduce profitability if not factored in.
• Taxes: GST need to be accounted for when calculating overall shipping expenses.

What Happens If You Skip This Step?

• Surprise costs reduce profit margins.
• High shipping fees may deter customers, increasing cart abandonment rates.
• Mismanaged costs limit scalability.

Solution: E-commerce shipping Platforms like Shift offer real-time rate calculators that include all hidden costs, giving you a clear picture of your shipping expenses.

2. Offer Flexible Delivery Options

Customers expect delivery options that suit their schedules and budgets. Offering standard, express delivery enhances customer satisfaction and gives you an edge over competitors.

What Happens If You Skip This Step?

• Customers may abandon carts if preferred options aren’t available.
• Limited delivery options during peak seasons can result in missed sales.
• Competitors offering more flexibility may attract your audience.

Solution: Work with Shipping partners that support multiple delivery timelines and tailor your offerings to meet customer demands during high-demand periods.

3. Focus on Packaging: Protect Your Products

Packaging isn’t just about presentation—it’s critical for protecting your products during transit. Poor packaging can result in damaged goods, unhappy customers, and increased costs.

What Happens If You Skip This Step?

• Damaged goods lead to more returns and replacements.
• Poor packaging creates a negative impression of your brand.
• Lack of protection can lead to disputes with customers.

Solution: Invest in high-quality, eco-friendly materials for packaging and use cushioning for fragile items. Consider custom packaging for a better unboxing experience.

4. Verify Customer Details: Minimize RTOs

Return to Origin (RTO) shipments occur when deliveries fail due to incorrect customer details. Verifying information before dispatch saves time and money.

Why Verifying Customer Details Matters:

• Prevents delivery failures caused by invalid phone numbers or addresses.
• Reduces RTO rates and associated costs.
• Improves customer satisfaction with timely deliveries.

How Shift Helps with RTO Management:

• NDR Tools: Update addresses and phone numbers in real-time to increase successful reattempts.
• Escalation Management: Resolve issues like fake delivery attempts to minimize unnecessary returns with dedicated support.
• Cost Transparency: Detailed insights to tackle recurring delivery challenges.

5. Send Delivery Updates: Build Customer Trust

Customers want real-time updates about their orders. Failing to provide these updates can lead to frustration and loss of trust.

What Happens If You Skip This Step?

• Increased customer queries add to your support workload.
• Lack of communication leads to negative reviews.
• Missed notifications can result in delivery failures.

Solution: Effortlessly automate delivery updates via SMS, email, or WhatsApp with Shift’s user-friendly features. Enable these notifications with a simple toggle and elevate your customer experience with branded tracking pages designed to boost engagement and trust.

6. Track Performance and Review: Continuously Improve

Regularly reviewing your performance metrics helps you identify inefficiencies and improve your logistics strategy.

What Happens If You Skip This Step?

• Pickup, Delivery delays and high RTO rates go unchecked.
• Missed opportunities to optimize processes or switch carriers.
• Poor delivery experiences damage customer loyalty.

Solution: Use Shift’s analytics tools to track data, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction.