CALCURATES BLOG
The Impact of the Coronavirus on Shipping
How to Keep Your Business Running
Nikolay Pasholok
Product Owner, Calcurates
Shipping under Extreme Circumstances
Now, might be a good time to revamp the delivery options for your products.
The availability of transit services became unstable, delivery times deviated from the usual standards, and the costs of shipping increased.
Remember that a worldwide pandemic isn't the only time in which deliveries of your products might be disrupted. Natural disasters, seasonal deviations, and other unforeseen circumstances happen daily around the world, and each can affect local and global delivery times and availability. Calcurates, an all-inclusive cloud-based solution, can become incredibly helpful in times like these, as it keeps track of all the changes in real-time.
The availability of transit services became unstable, delivery times deviated from the usual standards, and the costs of shipping increased.
Remember that a worldwide pandemic isn't the only time in which deliveries of your products might be disrupted. Natural disasters, seasonal deviations, and other unforeseen circumstances happen daily around the world, and each can affect local and global delivery times and availability. Calcurates, an all-inclusive cloud-based solution, can become incredibly helpful in times like these, as it keeps track of all the changes in real-time.
Benefits of Free Shipping for Your Business
Free shipping removes an extra step of hesitation for your customer, creates an opportunity for up-selling, and multiple-item purchases.
Keep in mind that free shipping is never free and that it must be accounted for with an overall price increase. For instance, cover your losses by putting the free delivery option behind a subtotal threshold or run a loyalty program like Amazon with their successful Prime initiative.
Keep in mind that free shipping is never free and that it must be accounted for with an overall price increase. For instance, cover your losses by putting the free delivery option behind a subtotal threshold or run a loyalty program like Amazon with their successful Prime initiative.
Let's check if Calcurates meets your shipping needs!
Turn on cost-effective shipping
Use Discounts to Your Advantage
One of the universal tips on how to keep your e-commerce going is to use discounts. Well-implemented discounts could increase sales by a large margin.
For example, Toyota, which tried to take hold of the American market several years ago, managed to raise sales by 41% just by executing an aggressive discount strategy. Afterward, they negated their losses by having good margins on the spare parts and official repair services.
While creating a short burst in sales, the implementation of discounts might impair long-term profitability. It might be better to incentivize clients who have already paid the full price for your product with added discounts for their subsequent purchases.
When developing a discounting strategy, it is wise to look at the following key factors:
For example, Toyota, which tried to take hold of the American market several years ago, managed to raise sales by 41% just by executing an aggressive discount strategy. Afterward, they negated their losses by having good margins on the spare parts and official repair services.
While creating a short burst in sales, the implementation of discounts might impair long-term profitability. It might be better to incentivize clients who have already paid the full price for your product with added discounts for their subsequent purchases.
When developing a discounting strategy, it is wise to look at the following key factors:
- What are the gains, and what amount of business will be lost to the competition if the discounts are not implemented?
- What is the loss in revenue due to selling products at a discounted price?
- Is there a tangible benefit from this particular product being bought at this specific time?
How does Coronavirus Affect Your Customers?
What are the customers' needs and expectations nowadays? Stability and speed became key deciding factors for the customers.
As Amazon proved, creating a Q&A section on your website or social media pages to address clients' concerns can be a great way to engage with your customers.
Companies like FedEx, UPS, and the UK's Royal Mail, among many others, introduced contactless shipping to ensure the safety of all their recipients.
As Amazon proved, creating a Q&A section on your website or social media pages to address clients' concerns can be a great way to engage with your customers.
Companies like FedEx, UPS, and the UK's Royal Mail, among many others, introduced contactless shipping to ensure the safety of all their recipients.
Use Shipping Software to Increase Your Shipping Profitability
Managing shipping options can be increasingly time-consuming. However, you can avoid such trouble by integrating an automated shipping solution like Calcurates on your website. Calcurates will adapt your business to rapid changes and calculate shipping costs automatically.
Calcurates has all the essential features, like an automated free-shipping bar, multi-origins deliveries, customer-address validation, and a tracking-number system, among others.
Calcurates has all the essential features, like an automated free-shipping bar, multi-origins deliveries, customer-address validation, and a tracking-number system, among others.
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