Introduction:
If you have an eCommerce store, shipping is a huge part of your business. If you want to be successful on the Internet, shipping rules should be clear and concise so that customers know what they are getting themselves into when making purchases from your store. In this blog post, I will share some tips for writing shipping policies for eCommerce stores that can help increase conversion rates by displaying trustworthiness to potential customers.
Why Is It Important To Have A Clear, Concise Shipping Policy?
A shipping policy is a set of rules and procedures that are followed when shipping packages to customers who have purchased an item from your eCommerce store. It's important to have a shipping policy for your eCommerce store in order to provide customers with the information they need and educate them on shipping costs, procedures, and policies. You want potential customers reading through your shipping policies before deciding if you're trustworthy or not. Your shipping policy should be clear enough that it can easily answer any questions an interested customer might have about buying from you online. However, there are many different ways of going about crafting one which is why we'll cover some tips below!
Why Do You Need A Shipping Policy?
A shipping policy is an important part of the checkout process. Not only does a shipping policy inform the customer about shipping costs and their choices, but it also provides valuable information to improve shipping for future orders. Shipping policies identify what items can be shipped together, if there are any limitations with shipping products that require special handling or cold-packaging, how long it will take before an order ships out of your warehouse and many other details. Not are there customer expectations for you to create a shipping policy, but many online stores and marketplaces require a shipping policy. Many times these marketplaces will have a free shipping policy template you can use. Sometimes your shipping policy will vary based on market place as shipping options and requirements vary by market place.
List All Your Shipping Options, Shipping Process, And Any Shipping Restrictions
With any online store it is important to make sure that your shipping policy is well defined. It is important to make sure that your shipping policy lets customers be aware of important details such as if there are multiple shipping options available or if your offer international shipping. It is important to include estimated delivery times as well as well as any additional shipping details that are important to inform customers about. Delivery time is one of the most important details to included when laying out your available shipping methods as it not only impacts shipping prices, but fast shipping is a key metric online shoppers look for on shipping policy page.
Include Any Restrictions On Shipping
It is important to not just make sure your customers are aware of their shipping options and delivery time, but that they are also aware of any restrictions your ecommerce business has when shipping. Do you allow international shipping? Many online shoppers are international customers who are in need of international shipments however many sellers do not allow international orders as not only is the outbound shipping cost high, but return shipping costs from international shipping can be quite costly as well. Some sellers even opt exclude US territories or even opt to only ship withing the continental United States. Do you have a shipping threshold that your customers need to be aware of? Many sellers set free shipping thresholds to ensure that the value of an order is high enough to offset some of the shipping costs. There are other common shipping restrictions like not shipping perishables or hazmat materials. These are all important things to mention on you shipping policy page.
Outline Your Return Shipping Policy.
A refund policy is an important part of any shipping policy as many costs are incurred when a return is required. A good refund policy will make clear what is returnable and who will pay for the shipping costs. Depending on the reason for the return you refund policy should clearly define who is responsible for paying for a return shipment as well as if there is any fees associated with the return.
Is Free Shipping Expected?
No. Nowadays, shipping policies have become as competitive as the products themselves, and many stores offer free shipping on certain purchases (usually over a certain dollar amount). However, it's not expected that your online store will provide this service for all customers (though studies show it does help to increase customer loyalty). If you do decide to provide free shipping- great! You do not have to feel othe need to give the most expensive express shipping away, many customers are ok with standard shipping especially when they are not paying for it. Standard shipping may take a few extra business days, but with today advanced ground networks the difference in delivery timelines is rapidly shrinking.
Some shipping policies can be as simple as: we offer shipping in the U.S., and it costs $X, but it's free if you spend more than X amount of money with us (or purchase a certain number or items). This is usually called "free shipping threshold" and can vary depending on your location. If you have an international shipping policy, make sure to include that here too!
Bonus Tips:
- Never make false claims in your shipping policy! Customers may not know this is happening until they receive a package which means you have already lost them as customers by breaking trust. It's important to remember that even small lies could come back to haunt you later on down the road so stay honest at all times! Be sure not to over exaggerate shipping costs either since this will be a bit misleading for your customers and may come back to bite you in the butt!
- Stay as transparent with shipping policies as possible. You want to make it clear what shipping policies are, who they apply to, when packages can be expected to arrive at their destination, why there is an additional cost added before shipping items out of your store; basically everything that goes into shipping from start (when products are being sold) until finish (package arrives at customer's location).
- Be sure to have multiple ways for people order: Phone orders made by telephone or fax machine; ordering through websites like Amazon or eBay ; sending us email requests for information about our company...having many different options allows more people to find your shipping policy and make a decision on whether or not they want to purchase from you.
- If shipping can be delayed, it is vital that customers know in advance about the amount of time for shipping delays before placing an order. Shipping policies should include information like how long it will take until their package ships out, when they are able to expect subsequent orders (assuming those packages have been paid for) as well as any possible additional charges if shipping needs to be expedited due to customer urgency.
- The last key thing: Always check over your shipping policy! It's important always double-check everything so there aren't errors with spelling or grammar because this could lead people astray in understanding what type of business owner you are.
Conclusion:
We hope these tips have helped you understand how to write shipping policies for eCommerce stores. Shipping rules are an important part of your business and can help increase conversion rates by displaying trustworthiness to potential customers. With so many different options available, it’s hard knowing which policy will work best for your store. What do you offer? Do you charge a flat fee or weight-based pricing? Is there a minimum purchase requirement? Does free shipping apply only with certain items on the site? These questions may seem overwhelming at first glance, but we’ve got some great resources that should help answer all of them!
