Cennos, Inc.
  • Core Services
    • Product Content
    • Imaging
    • Editorial Content
  • Advanced Services
    • Paid Marketing and Analytics
    • Price Matching Market Research
    • Invoice Reconciliation
    • Dedicated Project Consultant
  • Who We Are
  • Contact
  • Particles
  • Core Services
    • Product Content
    • Imaging
    • Editorial Content
  • Advanced Services
    • Paid Marketing and Analytics
    • Price Matching Market Research
    • Invoice Reconciliation
    • Dedicated Project Consultant
  • Who We Are
  • Contact
  • Particles

HAPPY HOLIDAYS: Shipping AND Handling for the Ecommerce Merchant

11/17/2022

0 Comments

 
If we’re late to the game here, it’s because we find it nearly impossible that the holiday season is within reach. As a retailer (or wholesaler) devoted to satisfy buyers in time for Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa, you are cognizant of the need to keep up with ever-changing challenges and quirks shaping the efficient delivery of holiday-related merchandise. 

​Conditions impacting efficiency and reliability at the United States Postal Service are still evolving, much to the chagrin of pretty much everyone. The agency is detrimentally impacted by staffing shortages, increased demands, and budget cuts. That it was once the top choice for ease of use and low-cost options is almost immaterial at this point, but not altogether unworkable. It still is on average less expensive than its rivals, UPS and FedEx. That said, it’s critical to plan intelligently so you can avoid a cabal of unhappy customers who have a set deadline.
Picture

One way to get ahead of the game is to encourage your customers to shop early. Nothing beats a long window of opportunity when it comes to shipping. Campaigns, incentives, and bonuses will light the fire under the feet of gift-givers eager to put shopping behind them and to ensure their selections arrive at least on time, if not early.

Obviously pricing incentives offer enticing opportunities. Discounts, two-for-ones, reduced shipping costs, and any of the traditional ways to ease pain in the wallet are a great place to start. Using the “Black Friday” tradition – which has morphed into a multi-week or even multi-month strategy – is one way to pull in customers. Processing early orders with a clearly defined shipping date range into the future instills confidence.

The upside of 2022 is its distance from the pandemic-plagued 2020 and 2021. The downside? Pricing. Expect higher shipping rates from virtually every service, for a variety of reasons including an increase in the price of fuel. Earlier this year, FedEx bumped up package and freight rates by a whopping 5.9 percent on average.

Are you the type of e-commerce retailer who can use gig drivers? If so, consider contacting Uber or Lyft and ask about competitive pricing. Especially great for last-minute or later purchases, they offer customized delivery without the red tape of larger shipping companies and, especially, the Post Office. It’s important to begin this partnership as soon as possible to reserve services as well as calculate a cost-savings assessment. Conventional mail through USPS and/or FedEx and UPS are probably a default shipping method, but for purchases that may be more suitable for these up-and-coming services. Note that the ecommerce giant Amazon increasingly relies on private carriers, with great success.

Need a few reminders and ideas for a hassle-free season? Listen up:
  • Team up with brick-and-mortar retail joints, paying them a negotiated fee to utilize their curbside pickup services. Again, the key here is to set up an agreement immediately. If it’s a winner, consider a year-round pairing for particular shipments.

  • Though physical goods are your bread and butter, think about playing up the gift card angle. They ship via USPS as regular mail with very few delays.

  • Stock up on shipping supplies (more than you think you’ll need, for obvious reasons).

  • Set up order tracking to work reliably, offering specific instructions that are easy to follow, including hyperlinked tracking numbers.

  • Solidify a workable refund policy, as shipping applies to returns and exchanges after the initial purchase.
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
0 Comments

Code Red for Ecommerce: Using Universal Product Codes for International Shipping

4/8/2021

0 Comments

 
E-commerce hits on a dynamic set of options when considered a global entity. US-based sellers enjoy a large market due to its simple population figures, but what happens when you want to expand your horizons and sales, and ship internationally?

There are factors at play, and each should be explored. Besides shipping costs and difficulties in communications at times, a major element relates to trade customs and duties. Thankfully, there is a universal code assignment system to ease the pain of having to formulate your own procedure.
​
Classifying products goes to the heart of custom and duty requirements, or taxes paid to governments in the course of trade. Tracking the type of goods being imported and exported is a primary function of all governments, and not every category is equal. If you endeavor to spread your sales territory across borders, get up to speed on the concept of clarifying the type of sale you’re making, and stay within the compliance expectations of various purchasers to maintain good relations. Even though the importer (seller) is technically responsible for paying customs and duty fees, purposely mischaracterizing the goods category can land you and/or your buyer in hot water. At best, it may cost your buyer more in customs and duty fees.
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

Nothing Stops the US Mail – Maybe.

8/6/2020

0 Comments

 
Not that you needed more bad news to round out the myriad chaos surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, but it could throw a curve into your business. And in a very, very bad way.

For a multitude of possible reasons, mail delivery through the United States Post Office has hit a major snag. Formerly a reliable service with on-time deliveries, the mother of all shipping magnates is bogged down with complications from various factors including sheer volume, employee shortages, and political wrangling.

An internal memo leaked to the press reveals that carriers are instructed to avoid overtime and unnecessary delays by leaving some mail at distribution centers if it may cause them to spend more time on their shift. A baffling development for the hundreds-year-old icon of delivery, this new policy follows a series of high-profile changes and concerns.

We’ll leave the messy controversy over this administration’s newly appointed Postmaster General alone for now, saying only that allegations of attempted election suppression are not helping. But the upshot is that mail delivery is increasingly faulty and late, with packages delivered to wrong addresses, delivered late, or not delivered at all. Bad for ecommerce.

The US Post Office experienced a massive $4.5 billion loss in revenues after its second quarter of this year. The reasons for that are complex and varied. The government-contracted agency is forced to find cost-cutting measures. For obvious reasons, this is an unimaginable ecommerce nightmare. Doing your part as a vendor to market, lure, sell, and package merchandise is hard enough. Now knowing that your good faith attempts to get it sent to buyers may be in vain is more than you should have to accept.
​
Pres. Trump has suggested the USPS triple or quadruple shipping prices. While some don’t take that seriously, it implies an intent to adjust pricing, at very least. That will impact your bottom line.
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

    Archives

    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015

    Categories

    All
    Accessibility
    Ads
    Amazon
    Analytics
    Augmented Reality
    B2B
    Best Practices
    Branding
    By Alexa
    By Jan
    By Jessie
    By Joe
    By John
    Chatbots
    Color Of The Year
    Content Marketing
    COVID19
    Data Protection
    Decor
    Delivery
    Digital Marketing
    Eco-friendly
    Ecomm
    Ecommerce
    Editorial Services
    Email Marketing
    Facebook
    Finance
    Google
    Green Commerce
    Holidays
    Instagram
    IRCE
    Las Vegas Market
    Misc
    NRF
    Outsourcing
    Pantone
    Payments
    PayPal
    Pinterest
    Productivity
    Product Services
    Q&A
    Retail
    Seo
    Shipping
    Shopify
    Shopping Cart
    Social Media
    Social Media Marketing
    Style Spotlight
    Supply Chain
    Sustainability
    Tips And Tricks
    Tools
    Trends
    Twitter
    Usps
    Voice Search

Core Services
Advanced Services
About Cennos
Blog: Particles
​
Contact
© COPYRIGHT 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.