Filling orders has always been the mainstay of retail. But as eCommerce has surged throughout the pandemic, consumer expectations for delivery of their purchases have made good logistics a must-have, and delivery time frames have only gotten shorter. Even though prices are up and supplies are down, consumer expectations for fast and error-free delivery remain.
By: Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO of ShipHero
Have you ever tried to buy a popular product, but found that its prices rose almost overnight? The increase in price can be due to a number of reasons, but chances are the price went up due to the product being almost out of stock.
For example, luxury goods are an interesting topic of discussion in economics because they violate the law of demand. Unlike conventional goods, luxury items enjoy high demand because of their exclusivity and financial barriers, and making them more accessible decreases their demand.
What drives this unorthodox behavior, though? Well, the experts define it as “scarcity”.
Scarcity arises when there’s a mismatch between the supply and demand of a commodity; the demand surges, and the supply doesn’t keep up. As a result, the commodity’s price rises, which is termed scarcity pricing.
Scarcity pricing is subject to the scarcity principle, which states that the good’s price will increase until its supply and demand reach equilibrium.
Scarcity can arise naturally, because certain products have limitless demand, while supply always has limitations. A good example of limitless demand is resources, like gas, electricity, and water, which have limited available reserves. When the supply for these resources doesn’t match the demand, scarcity arises naturally.
Sometimes, suppliers may introduce scarcity to influence the price of certain goods. For example, if rice prices drop significantly, suppliers may stop producing as much, so the demand increases and the price hikes.
Brands may use scarcity to drive sales, which is especially common for luxury brands. Luxury goods are priced exceptionally high, which should discourage sales as per the law of demand. However, brands use scarcity to sell luxury goods instead.
Here’s how.
The high demand for luxury products is a prime example of how businesses use scarcity and the scarcity principle to drive sales. Luxury goods are made more desirable by implementing scarcity; the products are out of reach for most consumers, making them more appealing.
Because of the discrepancy gap in supply and demand, luxury goods providers can freely charge premiums and keep their products’ demand response high.
In fact, the more inaccessible a luxury product is, the more its demand may surge. This is perceived scarcity.
Take Ferraris for an example – to buy a high-end one, you don’t just need to match the high price point. The company vets each prospect and requires you to have owned a less-expensive Ferrari before you can buy a more exclusive model.
When products become a commodity, they lose their exclusivity and uniqueness – customers perceive the goods’ price as their only differentiator. The result? Brands are at risk of losing their customer base, and the demand for the now-commodity goods starts to drop.
Let’s take the Ferrari example again, and assume the luxury car becomes a commodity. If price became the only differentiator, Ferrari would struggle to sell any cars. Since the car is no longer perceived as a luxury, exclusive good, prospects will purchase cars that are more affordable instead.
Depending on the industry and the nature of the product, scarcity influences pricing in interesting ways.
When raw materials become scarce, their prices increase, leading to higher supply costs. For example, T-shirts are always “scarce” products because their demand is limitless, while their supply may fall short. If cotton becomes scarce, the price for the fabric will spike, increasing the costs for manufacturing T-shirts.
Scarcity isn’t limited to luxury goods – necessary machinery, transportation, resources, and goods can follow the scarcity principle too in certain situations.
For example, the global shortage of containers has led to a massive 300% hike in shipping costs as a result of scarcity. In this scenario, it’s not the containers themselves but shipping that’s suffering from scarcity.
With fewer container reserves, logistics providers can transport fewer items, leading to an imbalance in the supply and demand of shipping. Thus, delivery costs skyrocketed, so only consumers that pay the high fees can have their orders delivered.
When products become scarce, businesses introduce longer wait times, meaning buyers cannot instantly satisfy their demand. For example, COVID-19 introduced a shortage of microchips, leading to longer wait times.
Some businesses use longer wait times to influence customer decision-making; for example, luxury brands introducing long waiting lists to:
Another interesting effect of scarcity on wait times can be seen from services scarcity. For example, when the demand for Uber rises exceeds the supply, the service introduces a surcharge.
Thus, only consumers willing to pay the extra expense can satisfy their demand immediately. Otherwise, they are effectively experiencing a longer wait time. Services scarcity of this kind influences consumer decision-making; each customer makes a cost-benefit analysis, and decides whether to pay the premium or continue waiting.
Governments may impose higher custom fees on exports for scarce products to regulate their movement. When certain goods become scarce, governments may take measures to encourage brands to cater to the local population rather than international customers.
By imposing higher custom fees, brands have more incentive to sell scarce goods to locals. Additionally, increased fees may make it difficult for brands to compete in the international market, further incentivizing them to sell locally.
For example, let’s say T-shirts become scarce in country A, so the government imposes high custom fees to ship T-shirts to country B. Now, if a business in country A tries to sell T-shirts in country B, they may not be able to compete with the local cost of T-shirts.
Scarcity affects everyone in some shape or form, arising naturally as a consequence of limitless demand, or synthetically by cultivating perceived scarcity.
Perceived scarcity is important for luxury brands because they must maintain a degree of exclusivity without encouraging their customer base to pursue alternatives.
Schedule a meeting today with our experts to learn more about our shipping software built for ecommerce brands & 3PLs looking to run their best warehouse and how ShipHero works to ensure that organizations invest in the solutions that match their needs, to improve productivity, revenue, and success.
Click HERE to Schedule a Meeting Today
Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO
ShipHero
About the author: Aaron Rubin is the Founder & CEO of ShipHero. He is responsible for planning and executing the overall vision and strategy of the organization. Rubin’s greatest strengths are leadership, change management, strategic planning and a passion for progression. He is known for having his finger on the pulse of ShipHero’s major initiatives, his entrepreneurial spirit, and keen business acumen. His leadership of ShipHero is grounded in providing excellent customer service that drives improved business operations. His passion for ShipHero comes from the culture and his ability to have an impact on the lives of employees, customers, partners, and investors.
Follow Aaron on Twitter & LinkedIn.
By: Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO of ShipHero
Warehousing has been around for a long time, but in recent years, technology has advanced warehouse processes tremendously. As a result, businesses can optimize fulfillment operations and cut down logistics costs significantly.
Largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the eCommerce market grown rapidly over the past 2 years, increasing the need for optimized warehouse fulfillment.
eCommerce fulfillment can be more complicated than it is for its brick and mortar counterpart, and thus the need for more optimized, tech-enabled warehouse processes has increased.
Warehouse processes are categorized into the following 6 key components:
In the receiving process, warehouse teams accept the inventory from suppliers. The team also verifies that the correct items are delivered and that they comply with the agreed quality standards. If any discrepancies are found, a report is generated, detailing the missing products.
After the warehouse receives the products, your putaway staff transports the goods from the loading space to the warehouse storage location.
Products are putaway in areas that are easy to access, making it convenient for your picking team to locate them later. During the putaway stage, it’s important to transport products carefully and store them strategically to prevent damages.
In the picking stage, your fulfillment team locates and collects items to fulfill customer orders. Order picking can be costly and time-consuming, making up for an estimated 55% of your total operating expenses.
Some ways to reduce your picking costs and optimize the process are:
After picking the products, they are brought to the packing station, where your fulfillment team prepares them for shipping. In the packing stage, it’s important to handle items carefully and to choose the right packaging, padding and dunnage.
Shipping damages are responsible for a whopping $1 billion annually in the U.S., as they invite costly returns, shipping costs and refunds. To mitigate these costs, packaging orders properly is essential.
The package’s size depends on the items’ dimensions, whereas the packaging material, padding and dunnage depend on the type of items. Fragile items, like glass or ceramics, are typically stored in cushioned packages, after being covered in bubble wrap.
After the items are carefully packed, they’re labeled with a packing invoice or sales order, ready for dispatch.
After the warehouse has successfully picked and packed the correct order, it’s time to dispatch the package to the right address. In the dispatch stage, fulfillment teams should make sure orders are shipped to the correct address to prevent costly wrong order complaints. Moreover, if packages are scheduled to arrive/be picked up in a given timeframe, your team should arrange the dispatch accordingly.
Retailers work hard to prevent the dreaded returns stage, but eCommerce returns are currently at a rate of 30%, making them an inevitability. The returns process involves costly reverse logistics; depending on your policy, you may have to pick up old items and ship the replacement order.
Businesses are bound by their return policy, which means you have to eat the costs if customers initiate the returns process. However, brands can implement the best pick and pack practices to optimize fulfillment and reduce return requests.
Warehousing costs make up a large percentage of your brand’s expenses, and fulfillment operations directly contribute to customer experiences. Slow pick and pack times (and thus slower shipping), wrong orders and damaged shipments make it difficult to maintain customer loyalty.
Thus, when hiring warehouse managers, look for experienced professionals that can optimize internal operations and streamline your team’s workflow. Good managers should:
Above all, good managers should be committed to continually monitoring your warehousing operations and identifying areas of improvement. They should actively work to remove both short-term and long-term friction from the supply chain, to cut fulfillment times and costs down.
Your workers are on-the-ground and actively engaged with fulfillment operations, which means they might pick up on problem points that executives overlook. Check-in with your workers regularly, find out how they’re finding the workload and whether they have any suggestions to improve warehouse efficiency.
Logistics software has advanced significantly over the years, allowing businesses to minimize human error and optimize productivity. Warehouse management systems (WMS) are powerful software that streamlines supply chain operations by providing real-time inventory insights, meaningful data and analytics, automation rules and more.
WMS optimizes productivity and saves businesses from stock shortages (or surplus) by forecasting demand and tracking inventory. Additionally, mobile WMS tools help workers verify items and orders, minimizing pick and pack errors.
Auditing your warehouse processes bi-annually doesn’t just help with identifying problem areas, but also monitoring the success of efficient practices. For example, if one of your warehouses has a lower ‘wrong order’ rate than others, you can identify the cause of their efficiency and implement it across the board.
Additionally, half-yearly audits help businesses avoid stagnation. For example, is your warehouse layout still optimal, or does it need improving because of new stock? Or, do you have deadweight stock that’s eating up space and increasing overhead costs? Don’t neglect to audit your warehouse processes regularly – they’re vital to optimizing supply chain efficiency and should be regularly vetted.
Supply chain problems and bottlenecks don’t necessarily occur after warehousing operations commence – some issues may arise earlier. For example, fulfillment operations might be delayed because your supplier is delaying the warehouse delivery. Reviewing the entire supply chain is important because, for this example, you might need to negotiate with the supplier (or change suppliers entirely) to optimize order fulfillment.
Emerging brands might lack the resources to hire experienced fulfillment experts and optimize warehouse processes. This is why many growing DTC brands partner with third-party logistics providers to affordably scale their fulfillment operations.
Leading 3PLs provide businesses with complete transparency into their operations, and optimize your warehousing, inventory management, shipping and reverse logistics. The right 3PL partner can help you reduce errors and damages, cut down fulfillment costs and offer expedited shipping offers to customers.
Optimized warehouses have minimal errors and damages, fast pick and pack times, and optimal inventory management. Here’s how eCommerce stores benefit from them.
Growing your logistics network is only sustainable if your warehouse operations are optimized. Otherwise, businesses that scale with inefficient fulfillment processes may suffer from late deliveries, increased wrong order complaints, and more damaged goods.
With optimized warehouses, fast-growing brands can scale their fulfillment operations without hurting their bottom line.
Warehouses with organized, strategic layouts make it convenient to locate required items. Additionally, optimized warehouses are designed to minimize picking times by leveraging shipping zones and implementing a clear route structure.
Optimized warehouses enhance the efficiency and speed of your warehouse operations, including packing and picking processes. As a result, your fulfillment teams can pick, pack and dispatch items quicker, leading to faster shipping times.
Working with a third-party logistics provider helps brands scale their fulfillment operations sustainably while focusing on growth.
3PLs optimize each stage of your fulfillment process, including warehousing, inventory management, pick and pack processes and shipping.
Leading 3PLs have multiple warehouses nationwide, allowing partners to distribute inventory across various, strategically-located warehouses. By distributing your inventory, your 3PL can ship orders from locations closest to each customer, cutting down delivery times and costs.
Third-party logistics providers have skilled fulfillment teams and advanced software to optimize your fulfillment operations, saving time and cutting down costs.
In addition to the cost-saving benefits of a distributed inventory, 3PLs also use software to automate tedious processes and determine optimal picking routes and equip their pick and pack teams with mobile tools to minimize errors. The result is improved fulfillment efficiency and reduced expenses.
Thanks to their teams of fulfillment experts, 3PLs use optimized warehouse layouts and strategic organizational systems to make the most of the warehouse space. For example, items that are regularly bought together might be stored closely. As a result, items are easier to locate, and they can be picked conveniently with minimal risk of damages. In larger warehouses, fulfillment teams typically divide the storage areas into dedicated zones, to reduce complexity and make it easier to identify items.
Access to real-time data and analytics is vital to optimizing fulfillment operations. Otherwise, businesses are at risk of shortages, overselling, errors and delays. Advanced 3PL software provides real-time inventory analytics, implements automation rules, syncs your eCommerce store and inventory data, and provides more accurate demand forecasting.
Since warehouse management systems play such a vital role in optimizing your warehouse processes, here are three important features to look for:
eCommerce inventory management can be complicated because although your store is digital, the goods are still physical. Look for warehouse management systems that directly integrate with your store, syncing real-time inventory data to protect merchants from overselling.
Additionally, after connecting to your store, the WMS should provide your fulfillment team with important data like customers’ shipping addresses or picking lists. More advanced 3PL software even provides displayed vs actual shipping costs, so businesses can accurately monitor delivery expenses.
Look for WMS that’s compatible with your warehouse equipment; leading 3PLs make their API accessible to facilitate custom integrations. WMS that’s compatible with your equipment can set automation rules, sync important data (like humidity or temperature settings from sensors) through IoT, and streamline analytics.
Pick a WMS that has a demonstrated track record of increasing ROI for fast-growing businesses. A record of ROI improvements gives you the confidence that you’re choosing software that can help you achieve your growth goals.
ShipHero’s industry-leading warehouse management software (WMS) helps the fastest-growing DTC brands optimize their warehouses. Our WMS integrates directly with your eCommerce store, syncing inventory and store data and allowing you to set automation rules.
ShipHero’s WMS is compatible with modern warehouse equipment and provides vital data and analytics, including team reports and accurate demand forecasting. Additionally, we have a proven record of decreasing brands’ warehousing costs and increasing ROI.
Optimizing your warehouse operations is a comprehensive process; brands need to improve the efficiency of their warehouse operations to keep up with demand as their business grows.
For brands looking to run the best warehouses possible, check out ShipHero to learn how we can help improve warehouse operations so you can focus on growing your business.
Schedule a meeting today with our experts to learn more about our WMS built for eCommerce brands & 3PLs looking to run their best warehouse and how ShipHero works to ensure that organizations invest in the solutions that match their needs, to improve productivity, revenue, and success.
Click HERE to Schedule a Meeting Today
Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO
ShipHero
About the author: Aaron Rubin is the Founder & CEO of ShipHero. He is responsible for planning and executing the overall vision and strategy of the organization. Rubin’s greatest strengths are leadership, change management, strategic planning and a passion for progression. He is known for having his finger on the pulse of ShipHero’s major initiatives, his entrepreneurial spirit, and keen business acumen. His leadership of ShipHero is grounded in providing excellent customer service that drives improved business operations. His passion for ShipHero comes from the culture and his ability to have an impact on the lives of employees, customers, partners, and investors.
By: Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO of ShipHero
Technology has dramatically advanced the logistics industry in recent years, with warehouse and inventory management systems providing real-time analytics, tracking features, and many more tech-enabled features that streamline fulfillment processes.
But what if your warehouse could directly communicate low inventory and pick your items for you? What if your warehouse always maintained the right inventory levels? It might sound futuristic, but the technology is already here.
Welcome to smart warehousing.
A smart warehouse is a tech-driven warehouse that stores raw materials and/or inventory, and uses various tools to monitor inventory and optimize warehousing processes. Unlike traditional warehouses, smart warehouses leverage AI and technology to streamline internal processes.
Smart warehouses can identify and accept orders, count your inventory, track goods, and make sure orders are sent to the correct location. They automate almost the entire journey of items from supplier to customer, with minimal mistakes.
Intelligent warehouses are ‘smart’ thanks to various tools and technological features that automate and optimize warehousing operations. These advanced warehouses offer:
With traditional warehouses, your team is primarily responsible for managing inventory and optimizing warehouse processes. This means that, as your brand grows, your workforce is under more pressure to manage a growing inventory and larger order volumes.
Smart warehouses, however, alleviate these stresses by scaling with your brand. Smart warehouses use warehouse management software (WMS) and other technology to accurately manage inventory (and monitor real-time inventory levels), fulfill large order volumes quickly, and minimize errors.
Smart warehouses collect data from cameras, sensors and RFID cards to track and measure temperature levels, real-time inventory, order accuracy, pick and pack times and more. Access to data & analytics helps eCommerce merchants identify problem areas in the supply chain, and take action.
Additionally, smart warehouses monitor inventory levels and industry trends to improve the accuracy of demand forecasts, so merchants don’t have to worry about overstocking or being short-stocked.
In general, robots can move faster and carry more items than humans, making them ideal for picking and packing. Smart warehouses leverage AI-powered robots to optimize these processes; robots can identify optimal routes, further decreasing picking times.
You might be familiar with RFID from its application in credit cards. Instead of manually swiping your card through a machine, RFID cards transmit radio waves that verify your transaction from a distance.
Smart warehouses use RFID technology to optimize pick and pack processes, count inventory faster, and reduce errors. A digital RFID tag is added to each package as it enters the warehouse so the items can be counted automatically.
RFID technology offers more efficiency than traditional labeling and barcode scanners. Unlike barcode scanners, RFID can scan tags from a distance based on the package’s general proximity. This makes them superior not only for identifying packages but locating them in the warehouse too.
IoT integrates warehousing processes by syncing data between different systems using the internet. Each machine or system, including robotics, WMS, and RFID, are linked through internet-enabled devices, allowing them to communicate effectively.
With IoT, robots can use RFID to quickly locate packages, WMS can help humans process orders faster and track order shipping. Thus, IoT facilitates an integrated data-sharing system that optimizes warehousing processes and minimizes errors.
WMS is used in both traditional and smart warehouses to optimize everyday operations. Advanced WMS integrates with your eCommerce store and other systems (such as robots or mobile workstations) to optimize pick and pack processes, manage inventory levels, and forecast demand, among other functions.
Smart warehouses get the most out of WMS by integrating them with other systems through IoT, like robots, sensors, and scanning systems.
Automated picking tools can be robotic or semi-robotic – they work with your pick and pack team to optimize inventory management.
Order pickers spend a great deal of time walking around warehouses, but computerized cranes and forklifts can automatically pick items and transport them across long distances in minimal time. Conveyor belts are also a popular, semi-automated option to increase picking speed.
Some more advanced warehouses use robots to automate picking times. Using IoT, AI, and RFID, robots can communicate with your WMS to know which items to pick, quickly scan and locate products, and deliver packages directly to your packing team.
If you’re wondering how smart warehouses can improve your supply chain operations and optimize order fulfillment, here’s a rundown of the key benefits they offer:
Labor costs generally contribute the most to your warehousing expenditure, and as your brand grows, hiring more manual labor becomes inevitable. Unless you leverage automation, that is.
Smart warehouses leverage technology to automate labor-intensive, time-consuming processes, so your human team can focus on more specialized tasks and cut back on labor costs.
Another reason why businesses are gravitating towards tech-enabled warehousing practices is to reduce human error. Picking errors can result in additional costs for returns (and thus additional shipping), refunds, lost sales, and customer service.
Pick and pack errors can drain your profitability by 11-13%, which is why it’s important for brands to adopt IoT and automation. Robotics guarantee faster, more accurate pickings and help ensure orders are shipped to the correct location.
Damaged goods are another costly expense that’s inevitable when you’re using human labor. While you can’t eliminate damage risks entirely, smart warehouses mitigate them significantly by leveraging technology and robotics.
WMS, robots, and RFID work together to correctly identify each item and determine optimal transportation routes. Additionally, robots can carry heavier items without dropping them, ensuring packages are safely transported from inventory to your packing team.
Analytics and reporting not only help you optimize inventory management but also identify problems in supply chain management. With detailed analytics, you can determine where errors/damages occur, and investigate the issues.
Moreover, with smart warehouses, your WMS provides real-time inventory data and analyses trends to encourage accurate demand forecasting. This helps businesses prepare for demand surges, such as during the holiday season, and prevent overstocking.
Customer experience is everything nowadays, and providing expedited shipping helps eCommerce retailers stay ahead of their competition. Unfortunately, warehouse picking can be a lengthy process, especially if your team has to navigate a large, well-stocked facility.
Smart warehouses help speed up picking times and optimize tracking and reporting to speed up your fulfillment process, resulting in faster shipping. Additionally, with a tech-enabled system, order inaccuracies and damages are reduced, resulting in fewer returns.
Utilizing and optimizing warehouse space is a complex process that involves many considerations. Smart warehouses use inventory tracking to ensure your inventory levels are always balanced by preventing overstocking and alerting retailers to deadweight items.
Additionally, smart warehouses perform ideally when your warehouse is properly organized. Thus, to ensure your warehouse functions optimally, it’s important to implement a layout that makes retrieval and storage processes convenient.
Predictive order processing employs technology and automation to deliver better customer experiences. While supply chain processes were once primarily analog, smart technologies use buying patterns, trends, sales history, and similar data to predict orders before customers place them.
Thus, with predictive order processing, your team can get a head start on order fulfillment and deliver better customer experiences.
Keeping customers satisfied is vital for improving customer retention, loyalty, and growing your brand sustainably. Smart warehouses help mitigate errors and speed up the fulfillment process to deliver better experiences, enhancing customer satisfaction.
Speaking of customer satisfaction, low prices are a great way to attract customers and outdo your competition. With smart warehouses, brands can reduce warehousing costs by leveraging automation and reducing errors and damages. Thus, you can list goods at lower prices without hurting your bottom line.
Over the years, the rise of technology has dramatically improved warehousing and inventory management processes, optimizing supply chain efficiency. While smart warehouses may seem futuristic, the technology is here, and top eCommerce brands are leveraging it to stay ahead.
Smart warehouses use IoT, technology, automation, sensors, robotics, and other robust technology to reduce errors, minimize pick and pack times, accurately track and forecast inventory, and ultimately deliver better customer experiences while optimizing your revenue.
Schedule a meeting today with our experts to learn more about our powerful shipping software built for eCommerce brands & 3PLs looking to run their best warehouse and how ShipHero works to ensure that organizations invest in the solutions that match their needs, to improve productivity, revenue, and success.
Click HERE to Schedule a Meeting Today
Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO
ShipHero
About the author: Aaron Rubin is the Founder & CEO of ShipHero. He is responsible for planning and executing the overall vision and strategy of the organization. Rubin’s greatest strengths are leadership, change management, strategic planning and a passion for progression. He is known for having his finger on the pulse of ShipHero’s major initiatives, his entrepreneurial spirit, and keen business acumen. His leadership of ShipHero is grounded in providing excellent customer service that drives improved business operations. His passion for ShipHero comes from the culture and his ability to have an impact on the lives of employees, customers, partners, and investors.
By: Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO at ShipHero
You’re more than likely still coming off the high of Black Friday/Cyber Monday and the sugar rush of pumpkin pie. And you should be; this is a tough time of year for everyone, but eCommerce retailers have a special challenge. So many retailers make the majority of their revenue in these few critical weeks and that ratchets up the intensity for everyone in an organization.
However, just because you’ve made the sale and shipped the product doesn’t mean that you’ve closed the loop on that customer. There’s so much more that can and should be done in the guise of client relationship management and marketing. Now that you’ve hooked someone with your awesome products, you want to keep them coming back. Let’s examine 5 key steps for marketing to customers during this busy holiday shopping season and beyond.
This might seem counterintuitive, but how you treat a customer return or exchange could have a long-lasting impact on whether you’ve gained a repeat customer. Hopefully, you’re using a return partner like Returnly or Loop (which both integrate seamlessly with ShipHero’s software). They make it much easier to manage returns, often absorbing the burden of processing the return, the return shipping/label and everything in between.
However, if you’re not working with a partner like that, you want to be sure that everyone on your team, and especially those in customer service, are ready to manage return and exchange emails. But the number 1 task to tackle first is setting and communicating your return policy. If you don’t currently have one on your site, get it up there ASAP. A return policy not only protects you from angry customers who might want to throw a fit if something isn’t right, but it also sets expectations. You can include everything from expected timeframe for responses, steps to the return process and whether or not you’ll be able to manage exchanges.
Make sure everyone is up to speed no later than Christmas Day as the day after Christmas and beyond are when you’ll see the largest influx of return and exchange requests.
Client reviews are a huge selling point for new or browsing buyers. Time and time again, word of mouth has proven to be the most effective selling method for many brands, including all types of eCommerce retailers.
Sending a follow-up email a few times following a purchase and successful shipment can encourage people to leave a review. There is always the chance that it might lead to a negative review, but in the end, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Now that your customers have made purchases, another remarketing opportunity is available – and that is the upsell. Perhaps instead of sending an email with a reminder to write a review, you can send one that reminds the customer there’s still time to purchase and send virtual gift cards. This is especially great for the last minute shopper or for someone who has just had another person added to their gift-giving list.
Cart abandonment emails are another way to encourage customers to come back and make a purchase. A recent study found that more than 46% of customers open cart abandonment emails. Take the time now to remind them of what they were browsing for in the first place.
Once the holiday season has passed, you want to keep these customers engaged with your brand and products. If you have a customer relationship (CRM) tool, consider setting up an email sequence that will send reminders regarding new products or sales or maybe even provide a coupon code for a product the customer looked at but didn’t purchase. This is a great way to convert some more passive dollars into sales.
Lastly, consider spending some money post BFCM on retargeting ads. These ads are the ones that “follow” people from your site to other sites like Facebook or Instagram. You can remarket your shop or certain products to people who have previously visited you. This again can help keep your products and store top-of-mind while customers peruse the Internet looking for a different gift. Oftentimes persistence pays off.
While this is not an exhaustive list of all the remarketing efforts you can undertake during the holiday shopping season, it’s a good start. Partner with your internal teams, especially customer service and your warehouse, to ensure that everyone understands your returns/exchanges policy and knows how to enforce it.
In addition, spend some time with your marketing team or agency to uncover the best remarketing options for you and your customers. A one size fits all approach doesn’t often work for remarketing, so be conscious of frequency when sending emails, serving retargeting ads or reaching out for reviews. You want to remind people of your products and your store – not annoy them. The endless amounts of holiday music on a loop does that already.
Schedule a meeting today with our experts to learn more about our powerful shipping software built for eCommerce brands & 3PLs looking to run their best warehouse and how ShipHero works to ensure that organizations invest in the solutions that match their needs, to improve productivity, revenue, and success.
Click HERE to Schedule a Meeting Today
Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO
ShipHero
About the author: Aaron Rubin is the Founder & CEO of ShipHero. He is responsible for planning and executing the overall vision and strategy of the organization. Rubin’s greatest strengths are leadership, change management, strategic planning and a passion for progression. He is known for having his finger on the pulse of ShipHero’s major initiatives, his entrepreneurial spirit, and keen business acumen. His leadership of ShipHero is grounded in providing excellent customer service that drives improved business operations. His passion for ShipHero comes from the culture and his ability to have an impact on the lives of employees, customers, partners, and investors.
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