Table of Contents
Types of Shipping Methods for eCommerce
Introduction
Shipping may not be directly responsible for your brand’s success, but it is certainly one of the most crucial aspects in eCommerce. It involves several complex processes, coordinated teamwork, and reliable shipping companies offering in store pickups and door-to-door delivery. Ultimately, the eCommerce shipping methods you provide play a key role in determining customer satisfaction.
As an online retailer, it’s crucial to meet customer expectations, particularly when it comes to expedited and overnight shipping as well as offering free shipping. Businesses have various delivery requirements, especially as they ship different order volumes to both regional and international locations. To meet these needs, they often rely on multiple shipping services to get orders to customers’ doorsteps.
eCommerce shipping options differ based on parameters such as delivery times, distances, order specificity, shipping costs, and customer preferences. In this article, we will discuss the different types of eCommerce shipping methods.
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What are Shipping Methods for eCommerce?
Shipping methods are delivery modes, each with its corresponding price, that customers select during checkout. These options are pre-determined based on the carrier services, delivery speed, shipping zone serviceability, and shipping prices that customers pay. Some popular methods include standard shipping, same-day and two-day shipping options, and expedited shipping services.
You can use various eCommerce shipping carriers to send products to your customer’s location worldwide. Each has its uniqueness and purpose but let's look at the 7 most popular types of shipping services for eCommerce fulfillment.
7 Effective Shipping Methods that Dominate the eCommerce Market
Understanding the different eCommerce shipping options is crucial for developing the right eCommerce shipping strategy to enhance customer satisfaction. Here is all the information you need to know about each shipping method:
1. Free Shipping
Free shipping is a popular, no-cost delivery option that meets customer expectations, though it can affect online retailers' profits. While businesses pay for shipping, offering free delivery can boost sales by reducing cart abandonment. A FedEx study found that 75% of customers prioritize free shipping over fast delivery.
To manage costs, online retailers often set a free shipping threshold, encouraging larger orders. Shipping costs vary depending on shipping speed and the shipping partner. Retailers can choose standard shipping for free delivery or incorporate the cost into product pricing. Ultimately, offering free shipping can be an effective strategy for online retailers to increase sales, but balancing shipping costs with profits is key.
2. Same-Day Shipping
Same-day shipping or delivery is an express delivery method for brands to ship products to customers on the day of receiving orders. This is an expensive overnight shipping method and brands offer it for products available in their local inventory. It is a common shipping process used by healthcare companies, food delivery companies, and online grocery stores to deliver essentials quickly.
Among all the eCommerce shipping options, same-day delivery has seen rapid growth in metro cities due to its fast delivery speed. Customers pay a premium for this service, covering the cost and delivery time set by the shipping companies. Online retailers can facilitate same-day shipping in urban shipping destinations using priority mail services like United Parcel Service and USPS Priority Mail Express. The same-day delivery services market is expected to grow to $9.55 billion in 2024 at a CAGR of 21.2%.
3. Two-Day Shipping
By shipping products to customers within a two-day window, an online store can offer convenience and customer satisfaction. Amazon was the first multinational corporation to introduce the delivery process for two-day shipping to the world. It revolutionized order fulfillment for customers, offering faster local delivery and opening new avenues for international shipments. This overnight shipping method improved customer retention rates and popularized online shopping.
An eCommerce business can use different types of shipping methods to complete deliveries within two days, such as air freight, ground shipping, and intermodal shipping. However, shipping expenses depend on delivery distance, shipping zone, dimensional weight, and nature of the order like fragile items and luxury products.
4. Expedited Shipping
As we continue to explore different eCommerce shipping solutions, it’s important to understand expedited shipping services. Expedited shipping is a premium delivery method offered by logistics companies, involving higher shipping fees. Popular expedited shipping options include overnight shipping, two-day, and same-day deliveries based on the speed and customer requirements. The key advantage of this method is its shorter transit times to meet customer expectations. However, they must pay additional shipping fees for this service, with charges varying based on shipping destinations.
The demand for expedited shipping, particularly overnight delivery, has increased as more customers trust the guaranteed speed and damage-free shipping of their orders. Also, brands benefit from it because it reduces storage requirements, particularly for high-value products. By 2031, the expedited shipping market is set to reach 75.94 billion, showing rapid growth and performance.
5. International Shipping
Brands reach their audiences in different countries through air, road, ocean, and multimodal shipping methods. The international mode of shipping involves the import and export of packages from foreign soil. The cost of international shipments can differ based on their weight, size, and destination. International shipping operations include customs clearances, security measures, and fuel charges.
Shipping companies offer specialized custom services, real-time tracking, and accurate EDDs on international shipping to ensure that the product arrives as per customer expectations. Businesses rely on courier partners DHL, FedEx, Blue Dart, and UPS for cross-border shipping destinations.
6. Table Rate Shipping
Another Shipping method used by customers and shipping companies is Table Rate shipping. The method is based on shipping calculations involving various parameters and conditions. These rules are available on a table to determine the package cost. For example, $10 for 1-5 lbs, and if the weight is 10 lbs, you can add $10 to the cost. Table Rate shipping allows you to explore several price calculation rules and helps you get a clear estimation.
Businesses with an extensive product collection use table rate shipping to save shipping costs and improve shipping experiences for their customers.
7. Flat Rate Shipping
Flat rate shipping simplifies shipping costs compared to other methods. Merchants pay a flat rate to the shipping companies based on the size of the shipping boxes. Factors like the size and shape of the product are not considered, though there are weight restrictions.
This method saves money when brands are shipping multiple items in a single box, allowing them to ship mass quantities of lightweight products. Since, the flat rate price is fixed, online retailers can ship mass quantities, especially of lightweight products at an affordable shipping price range. However, flat rate prices can differ from carrier to carrier. For example, UPS offers Extra Small, Small, Medium, Large, and Extra Large options and their respective flat rate options.
ClickPost: The Ultimate Solution for Streamlined Delivery Management
ClickPost offers a comprehensive range of shipping solutions and delivery management offerings for medium and big brands. It provides quick integration with 450+ carriers and storefronts like Woocommerce and Shopify. With push and pull API integration, it helps you keep your customers informed at each milestone while their orders are in transit and enables you to generate shipping labels within minutes.
Merchants can also manage their eCommerce returns by using the ClickPost Returns Pro and Returns Plus platforms. Additionally, the shipping software provider allows you to manage shipments in different shipping modes across several carriers, on a centralized dashboard. To learn more about the platform and its various eCommerce shipping solutions, book a demo with the ClickPost team.
Final Word
For successful delivery of goods to different customer’s locations, businesses have to choose the right shipping method. Oftentimes, it depends on their order volumes, weight and size of shipments, and critical criteria like delivery speed and shipping rates. These delivery modes differ from each other based on their purposes and time-sensitivity. We’ve covered the most popular shipping methods for overnight shipping and standard deliveries in your own country, to local spots, and overseas destinations. Happy shipping!