51ÊÓƵ

The holiday season isÌýofficially upon us. Before ecommerce merchants can partake inÌýtheÌýseason’s celebrations with everyone else, they have toÌýprepare their business forÌýtheÌýholidays. One ofÌýtheÌýkey pieces that must beÌýprioritized atÌýthis time ofÌýyear isÌýshipping.

While theÌýrush ofÌýsales made during theÌýseason can look great onÌýaÌýspreadsheet, they are ultimately meaningless ifÌýyou can’t provide reliable shipping services. Without aÌýgood shipping experience, your customers will potentially goÌýelsewhere next year. You have toÌýmake sure your shipping practices are upÌýtoÌýstandard.

ToÌýhelp, we’ll cover several manageable steps you can take now toÌýensure that shipping isÌýaÌýjolly experience forÌýboth you ²¹²Ô»åÌýyour customers, all season long!

Create Visible Holiday Shipping ²¹²Ô»åÌýReturn Policies

The first step toÌýgetting your customers ²¹²Ô»åÌýstaff aligned onÌýshipping expectations isÌýtoÌýcreate aÌýdetailed holiday shipping ²¹²Ô»åÌýreturn policy. Some aspects you’ll want toÌýaccount forÌýinclude:

Possible Fulfillment Delays
During theÌýholidays, you and/or your fulfillment team can get overwhelmed byÌýtheÌýnumber ofÌýorders that need toÌýbeÌýpackaged ²¹²Ô»åÌýsent off toÌýbeÌýshipped. This isÌýespecially true when you’re trying toÌýfulfill orders in-house.

InÌýyour holiday shipping policy, you’ll want toÌýaddress possible delays inÌýgetting orders shipped orÌýprovide anÌýexpected fulfillment timeline soÌýthat you and/or your team have aÌýreasonable deadline toÌýfollow. That way, customers are not confused ifÌýthey see that their orders haven’t been shipped yet.

Christmas Shipping Deadlines
One ofÌýtheÌýmost important concerns forÌýcustomers isÌýthat they are able toÌýget their gifts before Christmas. Major national carriers such asÌýtheÌýUSPS ²¹²Ô»åÌýFedEx have already announced theÌýlast days toÌýship items before Christmas. You’ll want toÌýincorporate those dates into your policies soÌýthat customers know when they must put inÌýtheir orders toÌýreceive products inÌýtime. Plus, creating aÌýclear timeline helps your team know when toÌýgive packages toÌýcarriers.

Last Days toÌýInitiate Returns
When writing aÌýreturn policy, you should give customers ample time toÌýmake returns. The industry standard isÌý30-days, but many people buy gifts months before theÌýactual holiday. Giving anÌýextended amount ofÌýtime during theÌýholiday season isÌýmore ³¦´Ç³¾³¾´Ç²Ô—a²Ô»å kinder. This makes people feel more comfortable buying products onÌýorÌýbefore Black Friday because they know they can return them after theÌýholiday season.

After crafting holiday shipping ²¹²Ô»åÌýreturn policies, you should make sure they are visible toÌýcustomers before they make aÌýpurchase. Place your shipping ²¹²Ô»åÌýreturn policy near theÌýtop ofÌýyour product pages toÌýguarantee they are seen. You can also include your policies throughout your ecommerce store, including your homepage, FAQ page, ²¹²Ô»åÌýContact UsÌýpage.

Clear ²¹²Ô»åÌýdiscoverable policies will help prevent customer confusion ²¹²Ô»åÌýlimit requests sent toÌýyour email inbox orÌýcustomer service team.

Use Automation toÌýIncrease Efficiency During theÌýHolidays

Efficiency isÌýtheÌýname ofÌýtheÌýgame when itÌýcomes toÌýholiday shipping. But relying onÌýmanual processes toÌýfulfill orders can beÌýaÌýrecipe forÌýdisaster.

AnÌýinflux ofÌýorders during theÌýholidays can result inÌýpackages mislabeling, theÌýwrong carrier service being selected forÌýaÌýpackage, orÌýsomeone putting too much time into monotonous tasks, like printing shipping labels rather than working onÌýother key tasks.

Ecommerce shipping tools, such asÌý, allow you toÌýimport orders ²¹²Ô»åÌýcraft your own if-then functions soÌýthat theÌýproper shipping labels are assigned ²¹²Ô»åÌýprinted automatically. You could put in, “If this order weighs less than aÌýcertain number ofÌýpounds, then we’ll automatically label itÌýforÌýthis specific shipping service from this specific carrier.”

ByÌýsetting upÌýsimple automation techniques inÌýyour workflow, you could get packages out ofÌýtheÌýdoor 50% faster than you could byÌýmanually entering information forÌýeach package.

Leverage Shipping Label Discounts When Possible

Every aspect ofÌýlife has been affected byÌýinflation, including shipping forÌýyour ecommerce business. This isÌýcompounded byÌýtheÌýfact that major carriers, including forÌýtheÌýthird year inÌýaÌýrow.

Raising theÌýcost ofÌýshipping can result inÌýcustomers abandoning their cart inÌýsearch ofÌýaÌýcheaper competitor. Alternatively, ifÌýyou choose toÌýeat those shipping costs asÌýaÌýbusiness, you could have aÌýslimmer profit margin atÌýwhat should beÌýtheÌýmost profitable time ofÌýtheÌýyear.

The state ofÌýtheÌýeconomy shouldn’t force your ecommerce business into anÌýultimatum. High shipping costs can beÌýremedied byÌýtaking advantage ofÌýdiscounts onÌýshipping labels when possible. Multi-carrier shipping software often comes with discounted rates onÌýpopular shipping services, namely USPS ²¹²Ô»åÌýUPS.

These savings can beÌýsignificant forÌýcertain shipments. ToÌýget theÌýbest deal, run all your shipments through anÌýintegrated multi-carrier platform toÌýensure you never miss out.

With discounted shipping labels, you can pass those savings onto your customers ²¹²Ô»åÌýuse cheaper holiday shipping asÌýaÌýcompetitive advantage.

±õ´ÚÌý²â´Ç³Ü sell online with 51ÊÓƵ byÌýLightspeed, you’re lucky: you can buy discounted shipping labels right inÌýyour 51ÊÓƵ admin. You can also print them immediately, significantly reducing time spent managing shipping labels. Buy, print, ²¹²Ô»åÌýstick shipping labels onÌýyour parcels inÌýaÌýmatter ofÌýminutes. The rest isÌý±ð²¹²õ²â—j³Ü²õ³Ù drop your parcels atÌýtheÌýnearest post office.

Buying discounted shipping labels from 51ÊÓƵ admin isÌýavailable forÌý51ÊÓƵ sellers from , , , ²¹²Ô»åÌý. ±õ´ÚÌý²â´Ç³Ü are from another country, you can buy shipping labels using apps from theÌý51ÊÓƵ App Market.

Diversify Your Carrier-Mix

There isÌýpower inÌýchoice. Picking carriers toÌýship with during theÌýholiday can beÌýdifficult, but theÌýgood part isÌýthat you have many toÌýchoose from. While some merchants prefer toÌýstick toÌýone carrier toÌýmaximize volume discounts, there are downsides toÌýthis shipping strategy.

For one, theÌýcarrier isÌýexperiencing issues, your packages can get »å±ð±ô²¹²â±ð»å—s´Ç³¾±ð³Ù¾±³¾±ð²õ indefinitely. This can seriously impede your ability toÌýretain customers year after year.

Plus, you won’t know ifÌýyou’re getting theÌýbest deal onÌýshipping since each carrier has their own way ofÌýcalculating costs based onÌýweight, size, ²¹²Ô»åÌýdistance theÌýpackage will travel. ±õ´ÚÌý²â´Ç³Ü have products ofÌývarying parameters, you may need toÌývary your shipping carrier accordingly.

Lastly, not all carriers offer theÌýsame services. While some may offer day-definite next-day shipping, others may not. During theÌýholidays, customers may beÌýwilling toÌýpay more forÌýexpedited shipping. You want toÌýmake sure you’re able toÌýoffer it.

ByÌýhaving aÌýdiverse carrier mix, you can ensure you’re offering your customers theÌýlowest possible rates while delivering their products exactly when they want them. This will ultimately give them greater peace ofÌýmind, making itÌýmore likely that they’ll buy from you inÌýtheÌýfuture.

You also don’t need toÌýjust stick with major national carriers. Regional carriers may also beÌýaÌýgreat option when shipping toÌýlocal customers, potentially shipping faster forÌýless.

Use Order Tracking Pages ToÌýRe-Engage ²¹²Ô»åÌýCross-Sell ³Ù´ÇÌý°ä³Ü²õ³Ù´Ç³¾±ð°ù²õ

During theÌýholiday season, many people mostly spend money onÌýgifts forÌýothers. InÌýfact, just last year, theÌý found that Americans planned toÌýspend almost aÌýthousand dollars onÌýholiday gifts orÌýother related items.

You want toÌýcapitalize onÌýtheÌýfact that consumers are theÌýmost willing toÌýspend money right now. One way you can take advantage ofÌýholiday spending isÌýtoÌýadvertise through order tracking pages. It’s estimated that consumers look atÌýorder tracking pages 3.5Ìýtimes per order. InÌýsome cases, !

During theÌýholidays, customers will look atÌýorder tracking pages even more frequently toÌýdetermine ifÌýtheir gifts will arrive inÌýtime.

Using theÌýspace onÌýyour order tracking page effectively, you can update your customers onÌýtheir package’s whereabouts, highlight certain promotions/sales you’re running, ²¹²Ô»åÌýsuggest similar items toÌýthose they already bought.

You can also use order tracking pages toÌýre-engage customers by:

• Including aÌýreply-to email ²¹²Ô»åÌýsharing your return/refund policy
• Including product tutorials
• Including links toÌýyour social media accounts
• Including links toÌýsites where they can review your products

51ÊÓƵ sellers can customize order tracking pages using shipment tracking apps, such asÌýAftership ²¹²Ô»åÌýTrackFree. These apps allow you toÌýtrack your shipments ²¹²Ô»åÌýmake your shipping process transparent toÌýyour customers. That isÌýtheÌýkey toÌýcreating aÌýgreat post-purchase experience.

ToÌýSum Up

These are just some ofÌýtheÌýbest practices regarding shipping during theÌýholiday season. ±õ´ÚÌý²â´Ç³Ü fulfill orders in-house, you’ll also want toÌýconsider hiring seasonal workers toÌýaccount forÌýtheÌýincreased demand forÌýpacking ²¹²Ô»åÌýfulfillment. ±õ´ÚÌý²â´Ç³Ü work with aÌý3PL orÌýfulfillment center, you’ll want toÌýbeÌýsure they’re upÌýtoÌýdate with your holiday shipping ²¹²Ô»åÌýreturn policies.

Ìý

• AÌýFoolproof Advertising Strategy forÌýtheÌýHoliday Season
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• BFCM: 22ÌýEcommerce Tips forÌýYour Holiday Marketing Campaigns
• The Essential Guide toÌýHoliday Promotions forÌýEcommerce Stores
• 8ÌýBlack Friday Pitfalls First-Time Sellers Should BeÌýAware Of
• What You Need toÌýOpen aÌýPop-Up Shop This Holiday Season
• Best Practices For Ecommerce Shipping During The Holiday Season
• Best Practices forÌýaÌýSuccessful Holiday Season: 5ÌýDo’s ²¹²Ô»åÌýDon’ts