CALCURATES BLOG
Shipping Automation:
Streamlining Operations for Shopify Merchants
Shopify has been a transformational platform for online retail, enabling anyone to quickly set up professional, reliable online stores with built in checkout systems including multiple payment options. For those starting out, it has become the number one choice, but one of the key advantages of Shopify is that it is so scalable. The result is that it is not only a great place to start an ecommerce business, but the best place to grow one as well.
However, while growing your ecommerce business is always the goal, that comes with new challenges, especially if you grow quickly. Shopify ecommerce automations can be crucial in maintaining the viability of your operation during that growth, here's why.
However, while growing your ecommerce business is always the goal, that comes with new challenges, especially if you grow quickly. Shopify ecommerce automations can be crucial in maintaining the viability of your operation during that growth, here's why.
Customers expect choice
For online sales, the biggest concern for consumers is shipping. But that concern is not quite what many people think. The standard idea is that shipping is too expensive, and keeping it cheap is all that consumers are looking for. No one is actively looking to spend more on shipping of course, but cost is not the only factor, and this is where Shopify ecommerce automations come in.
What your customers want is choice. They want to be able to balance cost and delivery speed, so they can choose the option that best suits their needs and the purchase they make. Sometimes a customer may want their purchase the next day, sometimes they may be purchasing something that is not urgent, and a free but slower service suits them better. That is the same customer, from the same online store. There are no one-size fits all solutions, which is why giving customers as much choice as possible is the best approach.
From speed of delivery to even choosing their preferred carrier, the more options you can offer the better. If there are solutions for every budget and need, you are removing one more reason to cancel the purchase. But knowing it is beneficial to offer all those options and actually implementing them are two different things. You can set arbitrary shipping costs and work from there, selecting the right carrier for each order yourself, which is both time consuming and at higher sales volumes, impractical, or you could take advantage of automated shipping systems such as Calcurates.
With that system embedded into your checkout process, customers get real-time pricing for shipping their package from multiple carriers, allowing them to select the exact service, speed and cost they want, every time. This is better for customers, but because the system will automatically print labels and notify the chosen carrier to collect the order, it streamlines your workflow too.
It is rare that a solution improves the customer experience and adds efficiency to your own processes, but Shopify automated shipping solutions can do exactly that. Saving you money, improving customer service at the same time.
What your customers want is choice. They want to be able to balance cost and delivery speed, so they can choose the option that best suits their needs and the purchase they make. Sometimes a customer may want their purchase the next day, sometimes they may be purchasing something that is not urgent, and a free but slower service suits them better. That is the same customer, from the same online store. There are no one-size fits all solutions, which is why giving customers as much choice as possible is the best approach.
From speed of delivery to even choosing their preferred carrier, the more options you can offer the better. If there are solutions for every budget and need, you are removing one more reason to cancel the purchase. But knowing it is beneficial to offer all those options and actually implementing them are two different things. You can set arbitrary shipping costs and work from there, selecting the right carrier for each order yourself, which is both time consuming and at higher sales volumes, impractical, or you could take advantage of automated shipping systems such as Calcurates.
With that system embedded into your checkout process, customers get real-time pricing for shipping their package from multiple carriers, allowing them to select the exact service, speed and cost they want, every time. This is better for customers, but because the system will automatically print labels and notify the chosen carrier to collect the order, it streamlines your workflow too.
It is rare that a solution improves the customer experience and adds efficiency to your own processes, but Shopify automated shipping solutions can do exactly that. Saving you money, improving customer service at the same time.
Customer Service is Crucial
No matter what you sell and where you sell it, there is more competition than ever. While great marketing campaigns, good pricing and the right product are all important to gaining new customers and sales, it is the great service they experience that makes them come back for repeat purchases.
When you start out, shipping is relatively easy, your customer selects the shipping option, you print out the labels, pick and pack the order and send it off. But while that may work easily at low volume, as soon as you grow a little, spending time prepping and printing every shipping label becomes an issue. Automated shipping systems do all that for you, so you just need to focus on picking and packing, removing any chance of a backlog or human error, so you can be confident your service matches customer expectations.
When you start out, shipping is relatively easy, your customer selects the shipping option, you print out the labels, pick and pack the order and send it off. But while that may work easily at low volume, as soon as you grow a little, spending time prepping and printing every shipping label becomes an issue. Automated shipping systems do all that for you, so you just need to focus on picking and packing, removing any chance of a backlog or human error, so you can be confident your service matches customer expectations.
This is more important than many realize, as consumers are reluctant to return to online stores that did not keep promises on dispatch and delivery times. By ensuring your shipping is exactly as advertised, Shopify automated shipping solutions such as Calcurates help maintain customer satisfaction, boost brand loyalty and help maximize return business, the key to sustained growth.
A more personalized shopping experience
Shopify ecommerce automations for shipping are great for both your business and your customers, providing more choice and ensuring that service is maintained to the expected standards. But those choices offered also have another effect. Rather than shipping being presented as a simple additional cost to every purchase, the entire process of choosing a carrier and delivery type becomes a personalized shopping experience.
While shopping online has become the first choice for more or less every consumer today, there is always something lacking compared to going into a brick-and-mortar store. Being treated as an individual.
Even a cashier wishing you a nice day acknowledges you as a customer in a way that online stores rarely do, but the process of choosing your own shipping solution, even as far as the specific carrier you may prefer, adds back some of that personalized experience to the ecommerce process.
While shopping online has become the first choice for more or less every consumer today, there is always something lacking compared to going into a brick-and-mortar store. Being treated as an individual.
Even a cashier wishing you a nice day acknowledges you as a customer in a way that online stores rarely do, but the process of choosing your own shipping solution, even as far as the specific carrier you may prefer, adds back some of that personalized experience to the ecommerce process.
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Conclusion
Shopify is an excellent platform, one of the best options for anyone interested in ecommerce, but additional tools can not only make a difference to your workload, but your customer’s experience and the scalability of your business. Automated shipping systems are easily integrated and have a massive impact, making it possible to improve service and better deal with increased order volume simultaneously.
There is a further benefit that we have not discussed too, as the economy becomes more volatile, shipping rates can vary considerably. So much so that for those operating fixed price shipping, the process can actually lose your business money. However, with automated shipping systems providing real-time shipping quotes, your customer always pays the price the carrier wants, removing a risk for your business and keeping costs down for your customers.
It is clear, then, that Shopify automated shipping solutions have many advantages, and with costs relatively low and simple integration, there really are few if any disadvantages to using automation. Whether you are just starting out on Shopify, looking to improve your customer experience or struggling with rapid growth, Shopify ecommerce automations for shipping help you manage your business and deliver improvements across all aspects of the sales process.
There is a further benefit that we have not discussed too, as the economy becomes more volatile, shipping rates can vary considerably. So much so that for those operating fixed price shipping, the process can actually lose your business money. However, with automated shipping systems providing real-time shipping quotes, your customer always pays the price the carrier wants, removing a risk for your business and keeping costs down for your customers.
It is clear, then, that Shopify automated shipping solutions have many advantages, and with costs relatively low and simple integration, there really are few if any disadvantages to using automation. Whether you are just starting out on Shopify, looking to improve your customer experience or struggling with rapid growth, Shopify ecommerce automations for shipping help you manage your business and deliver improvements across all aspects of the sales process.
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