Cost-Effective Small Business Shipping Trends

 Time there was when to ship or not to ship was a big question. Not anymore. In present day business calculations, that isn’t even the question anymore. Your business must ship goods if it has to remain in business. What concerns every small business owner now is how to do shipping in the right way and at the right cost. Big businesses can afford to offer free shipping, discounts for large orders and certain-day delivery services but small businesses can hardly afford to. Because they have to remain in business and they must ship goods, small businesses need to rely on latest shipping trends to remain relevant. Some of these trends include offering customers more shipping options and taking advantage of the latest technological tools to help monitor and understand customer buying habits. Here is what is trending right now which you too can take advantage of.



01. Offering more shipping choices. Most shoppers expect to be given the opportunity to make choices at all times. For that reason, the more the choices you offer them, the better they like your business. These days, most customers crave quick service. You can therefore offer them choices like, allowing them to choose their shippers, which store or warehouse they want to pick up their goods, same-day shipping, rush delivery, same-day delivery or regular delivery.

02. Monitoring customer buying habits. You need high-tech tools to be able to do this. Tools like Google Analytics when properly used can help reduce shipping costs tremendously. This tool enables business owners to monitor and understand their customers’ buying habits. That way, they can target shipping services while saving a lot of time which otherwise would have been wasted. With Google Analytics, it is possible to easily analyze pricing histories, mobile usage, site traffic, shipping time and arrival and other transaction-related information which can help you gain some edge. With such information, you can streamline and control the sales process and eliminate duplicated or wasteful processes thereby saving your customer’s time and money.

03. Simplifying shipping costs. When you see big merchants increasingly simplifying shipping costs it is to boost sales. Many do so mainly to garner a larger share of online customers. Small businesses are increasingly towing that exact same line for same reasons. Here again choices come into the mix. When you simplify shipping costs by way of offering customers choices, they are happier to do business with you at reduced costs to them. They explore their full liberty to pick and choose how they want their goods to be shipped based on what shipping costs they are prepared to bear.

04. Shipment tracking. These days, many small businesses routinely deploy shipment tracking and expected delivery times to check costs. Shipment tracking helps shoppers plan their schedules around the expected delivery times of their goods. Small businesses can do shipment tracking easily because some delivery services do provide package tracking that shows estimated delivery time and route location. Customers generally appreciate if they know when and how they can expect delivery of their goods. With proper tracking, people are able to make promises and keep such promises. Delays and frustrations are largely eliminated. That adds great credibility to many small businesses and customers do respond positively.