1) Introduction
The success of any ecommerce company depends on several factors. Besides its merchandise or services, things like shipping, post-purchase customer engagement, return availability and operational efficiency play a big part in bringing in and retaining customers.
With steep competition in online retail, brands need to use shipping software that dons many hats. ShipStation Vs. ClickPost compares two of the best shipping software for online companies to improve their shipping and supply chain management.
Below, you will find a blow-by-blow feature comparison of ShipStation and ClickPost to help you choose the best one for your business.
Let's get started!
2) Feature Comparison of ShipStation Vs. ClickPost
2.1) Multi-Carrier Integration
ShipStation: Multi-Carrier Integration
ShipStation is a tool for multi-carrier integration, enabling a wide range of carriers, online storefronts, and ecommerce management platforms to be integrated with your ecommerce business. It currently allows domestic and worldwide shipping with 70 carriers.
ShipStation provides an easy means to connect with different 3PLs and accounting partners. Businesses can also benefit from its extensive access to some of the world's best fulfillment centers and online marketplaces.
ClickPost: Multi-Carrier Integration
ClickPost is known for its high volume of carriers to choose from when it comes to multi-carrier integration. In addition to ecommerce partners like storefronts, order management systems, ERPs, and WMS, ClickPost offers integration with 200+ carriers and any new or niche carriers you select.
It also offers another significant advantage, i.e., fast carrier integrations. The fastest on the market, to be more precise. Whether an existing or new carrier, ClickPost will have you integrated and live within 24 hours, while other software may take upwards of one week.
ClickPost enables new carrier integration on client requests allowing them to start shipping in just 1 day.
Winner: ClickPost
2.2) Delivery Date Prediction
ShipStation: Delivery Date Prediction
ShipStation uses prior carrier data to determine a possible estimated delivery date. This delivery date is displayed to customers on the branded tracking page once the order has been dispatched.
ClickPost: Delivery Date Prediction
ClickPost uses AI and ML technology to calculate the estimated delivery date using the customer's pin code, prior carrier information, data on delays and stuck shipments, and numerous other metrics. This ensures the highest level of accuracy.
This estimated delivery date is calculated and displayed on the ecommerce product details page before checkout and purchase. Customers are encouraged to make informed decisions. The EDD is also displayed on the branded tracking page and in tracking notifications. It is updated in real-time.
Winner: ClickPost
2.3) Shipping Rates
ShipStation: Shipping Rates
ShipStation gives you access to pre-negotiated and discounted rates with the help of its Rate Browser, which lets you view the shipping fees of various carriers and select the most cost-effective one for each order.
ClickPost: Shipping Rates
ClickPost does not provide shipping rates. ClickPost encourages and empowers ecommerce enterprises to use their order volumes to negotiate best-in-business rates with each carrier through an SLA. All terms in the SLA can be monitored via ClickPost.
Winner: ClickPost and ShipStation
2.4) Automatic Carrier Allocation
ShipStation: Automatic Carrier Allocation
While ShipStation displays discounted shipping rates when choosing carriers, it does not automatically select the best one for you. The ShipStation software does not have a carrier recommendation engine.
ClickPost: Automatic Carrier Allocation
ClickPost recommends the best carrier for every shipment based on several key metrics like the carrier's past performance, current serviceability, SLA terms, type of shipment, delivery type, and shipping charges. The recommendation engine chooses the most cost-effective way of shipping and avoids delays.
2.5) Integrated Tracking Dashboard
ShipStation: Integrated Tracking Dashboard
ShipStation offers an integrated tracking dashboard for order management that enables ecommerce orders to be organized efficiently. This dashboard allows tasks to be automated and orders to be filtered and categorized.
ClickPost: Integrated Tracking Dashboard
ClickPost also offers an integrated dashboard that monitors all orders across many carriers and provides real-time order status updates. Various automated protocols can be configured to be triggered by specified order status updates.
Winner: ClickPost and ShipStation
2.6) Tracking Updates to Customers
ShipStation: Tracking Updates to Customers
ShipStation sends SMS notifications to customers customized for your brand and displays all relevant shipping information to the customer during delivery.
ClickPost: Tracking Updates to Customers
ClickPost automates tracking notifications to customers via Whatsapp, SMS, and Email. These notifications contain brand-specific information as well as all relevant shipping details. These notifications are available in multi-lingual formats for global shipping.
PLUS, ClickPost offers the fastest tracking speeds. Using dual API integrations, ClickPost receives and sends real-time tracking notifications. This ensures the highest level of accuracy in tracking and delivery updates.
Winner: ClickPost
2.7) Branded Tracking Page
ShipStation: Branded Tracking Page
ShipStation offers a branded tracking page to customers so they can view their orders and see milestone-based delivery updates and the estimated delivery date. The order’s location status is also displayed, along with the business's contact information.
ClickPost: Branded Tracking Page
ClickPost lets you give your customers a dedicated branded tracking page that enables milestone-based tracking, displays the estimated delivery date, and displays various promotional showcases related to your brand.
PLUS, using ClickPost’s branded tracking page also comes with the following advantages:
- Notifications for Delay - As soon as the tracking page is updated regarding a delay in delivery, an automatic notification is sent to customers.
- Intelligent Recommendations of Products - Products and promos listed on the branded tracking page are intelligently selected based on past searches and purchases.
- Standard Milestones - Delivery milestones updated on the branded tracking page are entirely standardized to minimize confusion.
Winner: ClickPost
2.8) Cross-Selling During Tracking
ShipStation: Cross-Selling During Tracking
ShipStation has a branded tracking page that vividly displays your brand logo and your brand’s color scheme. This tracking page also links your business's various social media accounts.
ClickPost: Cross-Selling During Tracking
ClickPost’s branded tracking page can be customized and personalized to cater to specific business preferences and brand promotions.
PLUS, ClickPost only displays intelligent product recommendations that are selected with the help of AI/ML technology. This ensures that products suggested to customers during tracking are specifically those that the customer would find value in based on their past purchases and preferences. This pushes a higher number of cross-sales.
Winner: ClickPost
2.9) Shipping Delay Management
ShipStation: Shipping Delay Management
ShipStation provides tracking notifications to customers, automatically updating them in case a delay occurs. This ensures customers are informed in case of late delivery.
ClickPost: Shipping Delay Management
ClickPost automates real-time tracking notifications in case of delayed or stuck shipments. These notifications contain the new estimated delivery date so customers may anticipate the arrival of their order.
PLUS, ClickPost uses carrier and delivery data to determine the cause of delays and address them. In addition to that, as soon as a delay is notified, an automated message is sent to the carrier with instructions to resolve the delay issue.
Winner: ClickPost
2.10) Failed Deliveries Management (NDR)
ShipStation: Failed Deliveries Management
ShipStations provides notifications to customers in case a failed delivery or delivery exception occurs. This enables customers to be informed or even select when the next delivery attempt occurs and make arrangements for its arrival.
ClickPost: Failed Deliveries Management
ClickPost also provides automatic updates in case of a failed delivery. However, ClickPost makes the experience more interactive so that customers can participate in the successful delivery of their orders.
After notification of a failed delivery, a cause-specific query is sent out to the customer. The customers are given an easy response mechanism, wherein they can write the correct address, an alternate phone number or delivery time, etc. The information collected is pushed to carriers and delivery agents, enabling successful delivery.
This system for failed delivery management actively reduces RTO% by increasing the number of failed deliveries converted into successful deliveries.
Winner: ClickPost
2.11) Returns Management
ShipStation: Returns Management
ShipStation lets businesses create a branded returns page where customers can initiate return requests. Through this portal, you can manage returns and identify trends in returns.
ClickPost: Returns Management
ClickPost also provides a dedicated branded portal for both returns and exchanges to be accepted, monitored, and managed efficiently.
PLUS, this portal can be customized and configured with fixed and flexible rules for returns and exchanges so that you maintain all control. ClickPost also ties up with numerous expert carriers in reverse logistics and provides a quick automated system for allocation.
Furthermore, one of the major benefits of ClickPost’s return management portal is that it equips you to deal with exceptions related to returns, exchanges, and pickups.
Winner: ClickPost
2.12) Performance Analytics
ShipStation: Analytics
ShipStation provides separate tools for measuring and reporting on various aspects of your business. It offers an independent tool for inventory management which measures stock, and one for branding, which measures specific aspects of post-purchase customer experience, and provides comprehensive shipping analytics.
ClickPost: Analytics
ClickPost provides a thoroughly exhaustive and totally interactive self-service hub for analytics. This hub lets enterprise clients customize and configure metrics they need to monitor closely. Reports are compiled per these metrics and shared to provide actionable insights on improving logistics operations and post-purchase experience for customers.
Winner: ClickPost and ShipStation
2.13) Shopify App
ShipStation: Shopify App
Shopify merchants can use ShipStatiion's Shopify app to manage their shipping operations and order fulfillment. Their Shopify app provides all the features that the software does. It connects with selling channels like Amazon and Walmart and carriers like UPS, USPS, and FedEx. It provides all the flexibility today's entrepreneurs need to manage orders on the go.
Pros: Offers easy marketplace integration and excellent customer care support.
Cons: The ShipStation app faces glitches when printing shipping labels and importing international order details.
Price: It has 4 plans and a 30-day free trial. Starter Plan - $9.99/month (50 shipments), Bronze Plan - $29.99/month (500 shipments), Gold Plan - $99.99/month (2000 shipments), Enterprise Plan - $229.99/month (7500 shipments)
ClickPost: Shopify App
ClickPost Returns Plus is a Shopify app dedicated to solving e-commerce return issues. It features an on-demand returns portal that customers can use to initiate returns instantaneously. The Shopify app allows online companies to set specific return rules like return period, non-returnable items, etc., to accept or reject returns automatically.
Customers are notified as soon as their return is accepted, with real-time return tracking updates sent via emails and SMS. Shopify Returns Plus gathers returns data to help businesses understand the underlying cause for returns and reduce them.
Pros: It features a branded returns portal with opportunities for cross-selling and upselling.
Cons: ClickPost Returns Plus is only suitable for small and medium-sized Shopify businesses.
Price: It is free to install and has 3 plans. Free - Free returns up to 100 returns, Basic - $49/month (225 returns), Pro - $199/month (725 returns).
3) Conclusion
If you’re looking for shipping software to help take your business to the next level, ShipStation and ClickPost are both great options. However, depending on your needs, one may be better suited for you than the other. Be sure to research and compare features before choosing shipping software – it could make all the difference in streamlining your process and saving you time and money down the road.
4) FAQs
4.1) Which shipping software integrates with more ecommerce platforms - ClickPost or ShipStation?
ClickPost integrates with more e-commerce platforms, carriers, and WMS than ShipStation. However, these numbers keep changing as new partners are integrated.
4.2) What is the main difference between ShipStation and ClickPost?
Since both ShipStation and ClickPost are shipping software, the main difference in the two lies in the kind of services each provides. While ShipStation can provide heavily discounted shipping rates, it falls short in real-time tracking, failed delivery management, and returns management. ClickPost is a great choice for businesses looking to improve their shipping performance and post-purchase customer experience.