4 small business shipping options for your operation

By Anita Ginsburg

With more and more people turning to the internet for their purchases, ecommerce is a huge deal. In fact, it seems to be supplanting brick and mortar retail as the way consumers purchase goods. There are many benefits to selling your small business’s products online. If you position your company correctly, you could end up with a much larger customer base than you could ever achieve with only a physical store.

However, there is one challenge small business face regarding ecommerce. It’s figuring out how best to ship your products to consumers. Shipping can be expensive and complex, but a customer will definitely judge your business partly on the efficiency and quality of the shipping. Below are four shipping options you should consider.

White glove delivery

Consider offering your shoppers premium shipping options, especially if you are selling high-end or luxury items. One of these options should be white glove delivery. This goes beyond the usual delivery service where items are roughly handled on the journey before being left on an unsecure doorstep. Not only are your products carefully handled throughout the journey, many services will set up furnishings and art for your customers. A national white glove delivery service help ensure that your customers are more satisfied with your product and more likely to return to your store.

Free shipping

However, your business may not be selling luxury products or one-of-a-kind items like fine art. If you are selling mass produced goods like DVDs or toys, you may want to consider offering a free shipping option. Free shipping should only be available to customers who spend a certain amount in their digital shopping cart. For example, if you set free shipping at $50, customers will often go out of their way to buy more to meet that minimum. The price of the discount shipping option will be paid by the extra revenue produced by that higher shopping cart total.

Next day delivery

There are also other premium shipping options you can offer. One popular choice for many is next day shipping. This is great for people who need an item as soon as possible or don’t care to wait multiple days to receive a delivery. As such, you can charge a decent premium for next day delivery. Customers will choose this option more often than you may assume, and many shipping partners can certainly make that short deadline.

Flat rate shipping

Another option that may be very convenient for many small businesses is flat rate shipping. This kind of shipping is priced via the size of the shipping box as opposed to the size of the item. For example, a certain size box may cost $5 to ship with a flat rate. This can remove much of the guesswork when it comes to estimating shipping prices based on weight and type.

There are many ways to make sure your products get to your customers quickly. Work with a shipping partner to find the best solutions for your small business. Shipping products does take some extra work, but doing so can also expand your revenue exponentially.

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Anita Ginsburg is a freelance writer from Denver, CO. She studied at Colorado State University, and now writes articles about health, business, family and finance. A mother of two, she enjoys traveling with her family whenever she isn’t writing. You can follow her on Twitter @anitaginsburg.

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