Tag Archive: discounts

Considerations for Optimized Shipping & Packaging

January 9, 2019  Published by

The cost of shipping is a major competitive differentiator in ecommerce. Shoppers will quickly abandon a cart or buy from a competitor if it means they will save money on shipping. To reduce shipping charges for your customers, you’ll need to go beyond investing in cheaper dunnage or renegotiating with carriers for better rates. In addition to those strategies, here are some more holistic considerations for improving the cost efficiency and customer-friendliness of your packing and shipping operations. Evaluate current packing materials and processes From material and labor costs, to DIM weight optimization and customer experience – you may find…... View Article

How to Prep your Site for a Flash Sale

August 1, 2018  Published by

According to research from the National Retail Federation, 73% of consumers ranked “sales and price discounts” as top factors for deciding where to shop. In the heyday of brick-and-mortar retail, it was common for stores to attract these prudent shoppers with highly-publicized mega-sales (typically held on a “Sunday, SUNDAY, SUNDAYYY!”). With the instantaneous nature of internet shopping, today’s ecommerce equivalent would probably be “flash sales.”    Like their predecessors, flash sales are great for attracting consumers’ attention, driving brand awareness, and boosting sales. However, the surges in traffic to your site and order volume can strain your internal resources and hamper…... View Article

Cost Efficient Ways to Offer Free Shipping

February 14, 2018  Published by

Free shipping is the most effective promotion you can offer ecommerce customers, hands down. However, not every ecommerce site has the ability to shoulder the shipping costs for 100% of their orders. Fortunately, there are many different ways you can have free shipping, and some cost less than others. Below, we go over some ideas you can use to offer free shipping at a reasonable cost. Set a minimum order condition Look at your product margins and calculate how much a customer would have to spend on an order to make free shipping easier for you to offer. You can…... View Article

Shipping Strategies to Improve Customer Satisfaction

April 19, 2017  Published by

“Shipping” is more than just an added cost at the end of the checkout process. Speed, cost, communication, logistics – all of these and more combine to form the shipping experience your business is known for. If you can improve on these areas, you can turn your shipping options into a competitive differentiator that attracts more customers. In order to make effective improvements, be sure to consider the following: Total Cost to Customers It’s no secret that ecommerce customers love free shipping. However, it’s important to remember that the reason customers love free shipping is because it’s a discount. If…... View Article

Incentivizing Customers to Increase Upsells

January 4, 2017  Published by

Upsells are an important ecommerce tactic because they can increase customer satisfaction with an order while increasing your revenue. But, you don’t want your upsells to come off as pushy or be intrusive to the user’s shopping experience. As the saying goes, “you catch more flies with honey.” Consider these tips when crafting the messaging for upsell opportunities.     Well-timed discount incentives Find creative ways to grab your customers at the end or near the end of their purchase journey with various discounts. Amazon.com’s “Subscribe & Save” program is a popular example of this tactic – with many prominent calls-to-action…... View Article

Ways to Strengthen Shopper Trust and Loyalty

July 20, 2016  Published by

Customer retention in ecommerce requires brands to earn the trust of shoppers. In its 2015 Consumer Payments Survey, PwC’s subsidiary Strategy& found that users value the following elements when shopping online: data privacy, transaction security, and worthwhile rewards for brand loyalty. [more] Essentially, these all boil down to issues of trust. Shoppers want peace of mind knowing that their personal information won’t be abused or sold, that their financial data will be secure, and that e-tailers will reward their loyalty and information-sharing with good deals. Addressing these concerns can help you build trust and loyalty with your customers, but where…... View Article

Cheap Ideas for Free Shipping

February 10, 2016  Published by

Free shipping is a surefire way to increase sales numbers, but it can be a costly promotion if it’s an ongoing offer. Luckily, there are many different ways you can incorporate free shipping, and some cost less than others. Following are a few ideas you can use to offer free shipping at a reasonable cost. [more] Start with economy shipping Most customers don’t have high expectations from free shipping – it is free, after all. Consider making slower, economy shipping free, but charging extra for faster shipping options. Establish a free shipping threshold According to a survey from UPSPulse of…... View Article

Free-Shipping Strategies and Tips

March 4, 2015  Published by

Free shipping is a sure-fire way to knock a customer off the fence and into the checkout process. Of course, such an offer is not without its costs. That’s why when you decide to run a free shipping promotion, you need to make it count. Here are some smart ways to approach your next free shipping promotion to maximize ROI. [more] Put the cost into perspective Free shipping has its cost, but then again, so does new customer acquisition. Depending on your products and fulfillment provider, chances are that free shipping is cheaper. With that in mind, free shipping becomes…... View Article

Different Types of Shipping Offers

January 7, 2015  Published by

If you find your ecommerce sales dragging, a shipping promotion is a tried and true way to get your products moving again. To come up with a shipping promotion that works for your situation, you should consider the makeup of your customer base and logistics of your company. To help you come up with a great promotion, here are the three major types of shipping deals you could offer. [more] Unconditional Free Shipping In an ideal world, you could ship all of your products for free, all of the time. Unfortunately, this isn’t feasible for most ecommerce sites. If the…... View Article

Determining the Shipping Costs for Your Customers

November 5, 2014  Published by

It can be difficult enough to nail down what your shipping expenses will be as an ecommerce company. Deciding what to charge your customers for shipping can be even more difficult. Ideally, you could just charge your customers the same shipping costs that you pay – but that poses lots of potential problems. For one, there are many variables that determine your shipping costs as an ecommerce company. There are various surcharges that may apply depending on package size and delivery location. Plus, if you outsource your order fulfillment and/or have negotiated shipping discounts, you won’t really be able to…... View Article