There are different shipping methods for an online store. If you are starting a store or have a store and are looking for different ways to handle your shipping here in this guide we will cover it.
1. How to charge for shipping in an online store
Free shipping
You can offer free shipping to all your customers. Either the product margin is enough to cover the cost of shipping or you may be able to increase the price of the product to cover the shipping costs.
This option is very attractive to customers since the price of the product is the total price they pay and there are no additional fees or charges. If you have products that are very different in weight this may make it not so easy for you to ship for free.
Free shipping with minimum purchase
This is also a good strategy to increase the average order value (AOV). You can define a fixed shipping price or price per weight and if the customer reaches a minimum purchase, you can offer free shipping.
Having this option can help you incentivize your customer to order more products in a single order and pay for a single shipment.
Fixed-rate shipments
What you can do is to have a flat rate shipping. Maybe in your state, you charge one amount (e.g. 100/shipping) and to the rest of the republic you charge another amount (e.g. 200/shipping).
Normally when this is used, the business is covering part of the cost of shipping. When it is a flat rate there are times when you can beat the price of shipping or there are times when it may be a little more expensive but you can offset it with what you earn from other shipments. This can be adjusted as it makes sense.
Shipments by weight
You can charge shipping based on the total weight of the order, this requires that all your products have a weight assigned to them. At the end of the order you will add up all the weights of all the products and based on the weight rule is what you will charge the customer (e.g. product A - 1kg and product B - 3Kg, the total will be for 4Kg). By state or country you can make a list of shipping costs based on weight: from 0 to 5kg - $100 pesos, from 5-10Kg - $200 pesos and so on).
Dynamic rate shipments
There are some tools like envia.com that allow you to charge based on weight and distance. In these cases, the tool defines the cost based on those two parameters and you don't have to worry about the shipping cost, the platform adds it to the order and from there you can pay for the shipping service.
Local pickup
If you have a physical store you can accept people to pick up the order at the store. Normally this is not charged since the customer is the one who is using their time, gas, transportation to go get the product. This is also a good option to offer the facility for the customer to pick up the product when they can.
It is important, in the case of local pick-up, to specify the approximate time it takes to have the order ready.
Local shipping
This is most commonly used when the business does its own deliveries and only offers service near your business or location. There are some platforms like Shopify that natively (without the need for an app or plugin) allow you to set a radius or distance of coverage for the delivery service.
Shipping by zip code
There are other ways in which you can specify in which zip codes you offer service, based on the zip code you can determine a flat rate or a rate by weight according to a certain group of zip codes.
This is a slightly more complicated way to set up but sometimes very convenient when the company or business does its own shipping.
2. How to send your orders
There are several ways in which you can submit an order.
Local pickup
This is when people come by to pick up the order.
Local shipments
Local shipments can be made by the business because it may already have a way to carry and deliver the orders, or it can use a last mile or local parcel carrier to deliver the order.
Domestic shipments
When you want to send to another state, you will most likely use the service of a parcel service with national coverage. There may be cases in which a company can make national shipments with its own transportation, but these cases are usually for much larger companies.
International shipments
You can also send from your country of residence to other countries, here you also need to be able to count with an international parcel service or the most worldwide known ones such as Fedex, DHL or UPS.
3. What do I need to send my order
Shipments without parcels
When you place your own orders, you don't have to do things like weigh, make guides or require special packaging (thinking that you will be more careful with the handling of the package).
In this case we also recommend you to be organized, in order to have better evidence of how the product is delivered. Some recommendations are:
- Get your customers to sign for delivery
- If you can, take a picture of the product before delivery
- Prepare schedules and routes for your shipment
- Have a way of communicating with your customer in case you cannot find him/her.
Parcel shipments
Guides
When you are going to use a parcel service, you will need to generate a waybill. Waybills usually contain the recipient's information, such as contact information and address.
How is a guide generated?
There are multiple ways to make a guide:
- Manually: You can log into your parcel platform and manually enter the data in order to generate a guide.
- Automatically: There are couriers such as DHL, Fedex that have connectors with your store so that automatically when you have a paid order, from your online store you can generate the waybill in one click. There are parcel brokers like envia.com that allow you to generate waybills in multiple parcels, envia.com, for example allows you to generate waybills in Fedex, DHL, Estafeta and dozens of other parcels.
Packages
In Mexico, as in other countries, there are many companies that offer parcel services, some of them have better insurance, better cost, better coverage, faster, or some kind of special service. Here we share with you some of the parcel companies in Mexico:
There are also marketplaces like Mercado Libre that let you use their shipping service. If you sell there, you can use their parcel service.
Another option is that you can hire shipping services with Uber, as a way to make your orders local.
How do I send the order
Once you have the guide, how will the order reach my customer? There are two options for this.
- Take the packages to a parcel service to be sent to the addressee.
- Ask the courier to pick up at your location. For this, many times they can assign you an executive and you can call them or ask them to pick up your orders. When you have daily or weekly shipments you can ask them to pick up your orders at certain times.
4. Some additional tips
Works with different packages
Even if you have a preferred parcel service, have another supplier on hand so that if you have a problem, you can quickly continue shipping.
Use parcel brokers
There are brokers that allow you to test or use multiple packages such as envia.com, Skydropx and others. In our opinion this is one of the best ways to get started as it gives you the flexibility to test and optimize.
Seeks to have a contact with the parcel service
Packing companies usually assign you an account executive who can assist you with your requirements and questions, but try to have a contact person on hand for any type of clarification or doubt you may have.
Better prices
When you have a high volume of shipments, you can approach your executive and look for better shipping rates, this can lower your shipping prices on your online store and encourage more customers to buy.
Pack your orders well
Try different ways of packing your products, different packaging, different ways of stuffing the box (bubble wrap, shredded paper), ways of sealing it, if your product is fragile test some bumps or drops to make sure it gets to the customer.
Customize your packaging with your brand
If you can, look for branded packaging; it's a good way to promote your business. If you are just starting out you may be able to buy a branded packaging tape or a sticker that you can stick on the box.
Warehouse
There are parcels, brokers or companies that offer the service of storage of your products. Instead of having all the product in a local, home or business, you can rent a storage space to have your products there, when you get an order you notify the parcel and from there they can start sending your products.
Conclusion
The issue of logistics or shipping methods for online stores can be complex, but once you make 1 to 2 tests the process will be easier. Try to optimize as much as you can the shipping price to make the purchase process more attractive and encourage them to buy more from you.
If you are looking to create an online store or help with your online store we would love to support you, contact us here.