The United States Postal Service is a common ecommerce shipping solution among American businesses. It ranks better than other carriers in so many situations.

In this guide, we will discuss ecommerce shipping and how the USPS can help you, as well as the relevant strategies you can use. Let’s jump right in!

Benefits of integrating ecommerce shipping with USPS

There are several ways that integrating ecommerce shipping with USPS can help improve customer experience and satisfaction for better sales conversions.

  • Reduces double entry with background scenes USPS API integration that removes redundant tasks such as daily order processing, label printing, and estimating shipping rates.
  • Minimize human error with shipping integrations to other business systems.
  • Promotes customer happiness by improving internal service members’ motivation to work through simplified tasks.
  • Reduce shipping costs by leveraging complete shipment cost analysis through “actual cost” tracking for competitive and affordable rates.
  • Trim internal information bottlenecks by linking directly to the related tracking orders to numbers, customer account records, and invoices.

Perks you will get when you use USPS for your shipping needs

If you are a seller/merchant, expect the following perks;

  • Access discounted rates via participating platforms.
  • USPS tracking and insurance to your items.
  • Free packaging.
  • Free pickups.
  • No fuel surcharges.
  • Free Saturday deliveries.
  • No extra charges for error corrections.
  • Streamlined package return services.

How you can use ecommerce shipping with USPS

While there are several ways you can use ecommerce shipping with USPS, the postal agency is especially effective when you ship the following;

Image alt text: ecommerce shipping with USPS. An international shipping freight with product containers.

Author credit: By AsepSupriyanto TB - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48982728

  • Small, Heavy Items

The USPS introduced flat rate shipping services. "if it fits, it ships." Even though other carriers have since added this service, the USPS one is the best option for businesses shipping small but heavy items.

For instance, if you need to buy a set of three padlocks, they will be relatively heavy but can fit the USPS priority mail Small Flat Rate Box.

  • Lightweight products

The dimensional weight pricing system has been around for some time, but most people do not understand how it works. Technically, this approach works in a way that the shipper is either charged based on the actual weight of the package or the average weight of a package packed similarly.

Although other carriers use some form of dimensional weight pricing, the postal services apply it only on packages larger than a cubic foot delivered to zones five to nine.

Furthermore, the USPS applies a different volumetric divisor which can be highly beneficial for integrating ecommerce shipping with USPS. If you ship very lightweight items, dimensional weight can increase the costs, but shipping with the postal agency canbe very affordable and help you retain more clients.

  • Post Office Boxes: Military Addresses

The USPS is the primary means of shipping packages to diplomat and military addresses or to a Post Office Box.

Other companies can ship to the following FPO, APO, or P.O box addresses through the last mile services. You can compare rates with other carriers and find the cheapest one, but the postal services must be involved.

  • Free Pick Up

Ecommerce businesses that ship small packages may save more than $670 yearly in daily pickups with USPS. At the time of this post, the postal agency makes free from every address in America, six days a week. However, it does not bill for on-demand pickups.

Even if you run an ecommerce business out of your shop, you can place packages in an oversized mailbox and wait for the USPS for free pickups. Other companies may bill low-volume shippers daily or weekly pickup fees.

Ecommerce shipping with USPS strategies 101

There are common things that set the ground over the rest on how to ship products to your clients. Although you are free to change them later, as you continue learning, these are the key steps and decisions that lead to a high-level shipping strategy;

  • Shipping rates and methods

Are you planning to burden your clients with the total costs of shipping, or you'll provide flat-rate or free shipping to some or all of the charges? How will you deliver orders to the local clients?

You need answers to these questions to develop a practical and cost-effective shipping approach.

  • Product weights

To streamline the ecommerce shippingprocess, you need to measure and update the weights of each item you sell.

Having information about your ecommerce setup will enable you to get a good understanding of your total costs and price your products accurately to your clients.

  • Choose a preferred packaging

Choosing a preferred packaging means that you will be able to know its quality, capacity, and durability of it. This will further help you understand which type of packaging is used for which type of items.

While there is more we can say about choosing the right packaging, once you have settled on the best, you need to add it to Shopify to enable ease of price calculations.

Finally, you need to source the packaging from renowned carriers such as USPS packaging, FedEx, DHL, or UPS. You can also invest in branded packaging if the strategy fits you.

How to set ecommerce shipping rates?

Before starting to ship ecommerce orders, you should first settle on a better shipping strategy. There are various methods you can use to go around this, but your final decisions should be influenced by the financial muscle of your business.

  • Provide free shipping

Offering prospects free shipping is one of the proven ways to prevent cart abandonment at the checkout. However, as you already know, shipping is not always free; somebody must always pay.

Do the following to make free shipping work for you;

  • Increase product prices, i.e., your customer pays.
  • Or you pay from your own profits.
  • Increase prices partially so you can both pay.
  • Provide discount codes to specific clients.

  • Charge a flat rate

Another popular alternative is to offer flat-rate shipping. The personal approach to this method is to try and ensure you don't overcharge or undercharge your customers. Also, it works well with a standard product line with similar weights and sizes.

However, the USPS flat rate shipping will become invalid if you operate a wide variety of products with varied weights or sizes.

  • Charge real-time carrier rates

Another tested and proven shipping strategy is shifting to real-time carrier rates. Depending on the shipping system you will choose, real-time integration features will enable you to provide shipping rates that are applicable at the time of shipping.

This will allow your customers to select and pay for the actual service they want.

  • Offer local deliveries

Local delivery is another method you can also consider. This method is appropriate for small businesses that want to provide reliable and straightforward next-day delivery for their local clients.

When you set up a local delivery service, you should customize your locality with a list or radius of zip codes. Clients within your area will choose local delivery as their shipping method when checking out.

Providing this service free for a given amount of orders or at a low cost can help reduce shipping costs and attract more local customers. In some instances, you can do this all by yourself without the help of an ecommerce shipping provider.

How to choose the best carrier services?

Choosing the best shipping carrier is not easy as it may seem. This can be attributed to the many numbers available in the market. Selecting the best company depends on the following;

  • The average shipment weight.
  • The maximum and minimum shipment weight.
  • Merchandise dimensions.
  • The type of box used for packaging.

As you may guess, distance also plays an essential role in this. For lightweight items, the USPS First Class Mail Service is the right option, and it is ideal for products without time constraints.

Conclusion

Ecommerce is increasing rapidly, and businesses are looking for a way to fast-track their strategies to keep up with the trend. It is important for companies to assess themselves to make decisions that both the customer and the business find favorable.

This is where the postal agency comes in. The USPS integration with ecommerce will benefit your business as it gives you access to perks you cannot get from others, such as free pickups, insurance, and tracking services, among others.

Contributor: admin