News flash: the e-commerce industry is booming and it shows no signs of slowing down. In 2018 alone, online spending was more than $500 billion for U.S. merchants (up 15 percent from 2017), with worldwide purchases reaching $2.86 trillion. If you’re a small retailer with an online marketplace or a brick-and-mortar shop looking to expand your business online, now is the time to make your move.
For retailers, there’s a lot to consider when growing your business through e-commerce, from setting up a website to building a robust marketing plan, but what many forget to consider is the very thing that could be holding your customers back from making a purchase: shipping and logistics.
It’s no secret that today’s consumers expect a lot at checkout. Thanks to retail giants like Amazon, Wayfair, and Walmart, customer expectations for fast, affordable shipping have skyrocketed, leaving many small sellers scrambling to keep up.
If you’re one of these retailers struggling to figure out the complicated business of logistics while expanding you business online, you’re not alone.
Our recent eBook with ShipperHQ covers five key elements of the shipping process that every online retailer should understand:
- Inbound – receiving raw materials and/or sourcing imports
- Parcel – shipping smaller items to your customers
- Oversized – sending large items, such as furniture, to your customers
- Cross-border – delivering products between countries
- Reverse – handling the details of return shipping
Though giant retailers have set customer expectations in the e-commerce space, there’s still room to compete, and we’re here to show you how. Download our report and get ready to master shipping and logistics while you expand your business online.
