Ecommerce Tips
E-commerce lessons from the big five: shipping and returns
Transparency in your postage and returns policy is the key to managing customer expectations and avoiding disappointment and disputes. However, knowing where to display your postage and returns policies on your website, how to navigate to them, which content to cover and how to format it can cause enough confusion for you to toss it all in the too-hard basket. Here, we take a look at how the big boys do it, and what you can learn from them.
By Nigel Beale
6 steps for setting a successful ecommerce postage strategy
Cut your postage costs and keep your customers coming back with this easy six-step postage strategy. Postage and shipping might not be the sexiest aspect of your ecommerce business, but it is one of the most important. Offering your customers fast, reliable and cost-effective package delivery will help you build your competitive advantage and boost your credibility as the positive customer reviews pile up. However, solving the postage puzzle is easier said than done. That’s why you need to set a postage strategy that governs everything from how you label and pack products,
By Nigel Beale
5 ways to use parcel tracking to increase repeat sales
For ecommerce retailers, your online reputation is everything. And as consumers increasingly turn to your online reviews to gauge the quality of your business, ecommerce entrepreneurs must pull out all stops to avoid negative customer feedback. According to a BrightLocal survey, 88 per cent of consumers have read online reviews to determine the quality of your business. And 85 per cent said they read up to 10 reviews. That means your customers are paying close attention to what other customers are saying,
By Nigel Beale
How to master your ecommerce product returns template
Your returns policy template wields a heavy impact on your ability to win repeat business. Make it easy for your customers and they’ll buy from you in future with trust, but get it wrong and you’ll be waving goodbye to frustrated customers forever. Here’s how five of Australia’s biggest online retailers handle their returns to ensure their customers keep coming back: Lorna Jane What’s an acceptable return? Australia’s leading sportswear brand offers returns and exchanges on all full-priced online order,
By Nigel Beale
7 ways to reduce product returns
Dealing with excessive product returns costs you time and money, and runs the risk of building customer frustration that leads to poor online reviews. Even if you’ve streamlined your returns policy, it still pays to focus some attention on reducing the number of product returns being sent back your way. Having an ecommerce postage strategy is a smart place to start when setting off on this postage adventure, and will help you avoid returns. Here are seven things you can do to keep your products in the hands of happy customers: 1.
By Nigel Beale
10 ways to pimp your ecommerce packaging
For online retailers, your packaging is often the major tangible touch point for your brand. So getting your packaging right is not only important for keeping your shipping costs down, but is also an opportunity for you to add to the overall customer experience. Here are 10 ecommerce packaging ideas that surprise and delight: 1. Printing on the inside of the box adds a sense of occasion to the product reveal and gives you an additional space to direct people to your website or social media accounts.
By Nigel Beale
6 things you must know about shipping insurance
There’s nothing more frustrating for a customer than patiently waiting for their product to arrive only to pop open the package to find it has been damaged in transit. It’s one of the major risks of buying online, and a good reason why offering postal insurance to your customers makes sense. With postage insurance in place, your customer can be assured of a timely replacement, and as the seller, you’d don’t have to reach into your pocket to pay for it.
By Nigel Beale
How to make money from ecommerce postage
Setting the right postage strategy can boost your revenue by as much as 10 per cent. Find out how. Making money from postage in Australia is possible – but not how you might think. Simply inflating your postage rates with steep ‘handling’ surcharges is not necessarily the way to go. Thanks to the proliferation of low-cost foreign eBay sellers who sell products at or below cost and make up profits on inflated delivery fees, online shoppers are becoming better at spotting poor postage deals – and they don’t like it.
By Nigel Beale
Estimated international shipping rates and delivery times
International shipping may be more affordable than you think. Refer to these estimated delivery times and costs to see if international shipping is the right move for your e-commerce business. While international shipping prices and delivery timeframes vary depending on parcel size and weight, along with destination country and freight provider, we’ll help get you started with these estimated shipping prices and timeframes to popular countries. Country Delivery type Estimated delivery time Estimated delivery cost (1kg) China International express 3 business days From $32.33 New Zealand International express 2 business days From $24.87 UK International express 2 business days From $41.20 US International express 2 business days From $42.53 Singapore International economy express 1 business day From $30.14 Please note that these delivery timeframes and costs are estimates only.
By gorilla360
6 easy ways to reduce your postage costs in Australia
Postage costs can be one of the largest expenses facing Australian ecommerce businesses. If you offer free or flat-fee shipping, spiralling postage costs may be taking a significant bite out of your profit margin. And even if you’ve opted for variable-rate shipping, high postage costs passed on to your customers could price you out of the market. The good news is that there is much you can do to take control of your shipping and send your postage costs hurtling downwards.
By Nigel Beale
How to set a postage pricing strategy that works
Free, flat-fee or variable postage? Find out which is best for your ecommerce business. The method you have chosen for charging for shipping could be killing your online sales. According to research by Statista, 56 per cent of online customers abandon their shopping carts when they encounter unexpected costs. So if your ecommerce business is experiencing high shopping cart abandonment rates, your problem could lie in unexpected shipping costs sending customers running for the virtual door.
By Nigel Beale