Moving your business online instead of supporting a brick-and-mortar store will save you lots of costs like rent, cleaning and staffing, but you’ll have to make more room in your budget to account for shipping. You will need to pay for courier services, packaging, shipping, international fees and the inevitable product returns. If you’re concerned about the sky-high costs, here are three ways to trim them:
Compare Your Options
Looking at the e-commerce platform Shopify’s blog, they suggest that businesses doing international shipping should use multiple carriers so that they can compare the costs for each delivery. By giving yourself plenty of options, you can find what delivery options work on a customer by customer basis.
The netParcel app through Shopify offers a variety of discounted courier services from companies like UPS, Purolator, DHL and FedEx. As a business owner, you can download the application to get up to 70% off of essential services — saving money on your shipments will be an absolute breeze.
Even if the customers aren’t half-way across the world, a courier broker can still be incredibly helpful for trimming down costs and giving your budget some more wiggle room. For instance, online stores based in the United States can use the app to quickly find the cheapest way to ship to Canada while on a tight schedule.
Know When To Consolidate
One of the best tips for saving money on shipping is to recognize when consolidation works in your financial favor. When you combine your packages with packages from other businesses, you can save yourself money. Since you are sharing the shipment space, you can effectively split the costs between more people.
With the help of the netParcel app, you can use the cheapest shipping options available to get your products to your eager clients in Canada. Volume consolidation services are also possible for shipping internationally to areas like the UK and Australia.
Rethink Your Packaging
You can find effective ways to cut down the costs of packaging materials. For instance, you can use recyclable and reusable packaging materials to extend the lifespan of your investments — this will come in handy for days when you receive product returns. There’s no need to toss undamaged items into the trash.
Or you could try alternatives to traditional products like packing peanuts or bubble wrap. Something like shredded newspaper will be good at cushioning your items, and it has the benefit of being easily accessible and recyclable.
You don’t have to shy away from the idea — you can lean into it. Advertise on your website that you focus on reusable and recyclable materials. While it saves you money, it will also make your business look more environmentally-conscious and appeal to consumers with the same interests.
You can cut costs without having to make a major sacrifice. Downloading the netParcel app can help you choose between reliable couriers and arrange for volume consolidation shipments. Moving towards recyclable and reusable packaging means that you can stretch your budget for materials. Taking on these suggestions will benefit your business in the short-term and the long-run.
