Shipping Software Solutions: A Comprehensive Guide & Provider Comparison

The ecommerce industry’s main differentiator from the technology industry is in physical fulfillment. Once you capture cash, you have to then fulfill your shipping and delivery promises.

The entire post-purchase experience, including how you ship, is an extension of your brand.

Putting your customer first in the post-purchase chain and competing with the likes of Amazon and Walmart is not easy.

Amazon, for instance, has 2-day and even 2-hour shipping, as well as convenient pick-up options to a nearby locker. Walmart allows you to buy online and pick up in store –– as does Home Depot and a plethora of others.

What can a non-Fortune 500 retailer do to keep up?

Implement a shipping platform that will help your business meet your shoppers’ shipping and fulfillment needs, without taking a hit to your profit margin.

These shipping software and technology companies are doing their part to help mid-market and small business retailers around the world streamline their shipping processes and compete more effectively with the standards and expectations set by retail giants like Amazon and Walmart.

So, whether you are looking for multi-warehouse solutions that enable 2-day shipping anywhere in the U.S., the lowest possible shipping rates and in-cart options for consumers at checkout, or back-office shipping streamlining with bulk printing and configurable shipping rules, these shipping software solutions have your back.

Shipping Trends and Customer Expectations

Before we dive into your shipping software options, let’s take a quick look at the current shipping expectations landscape to know what you are up against.

Here are a few key data points to think through.

1. 60% of consumers prefer to shop on sites that offer free shipping.

This stat from 2018, suggests that free shipping is not just a marketing ploy.

Free shipping is a true expectation among customers. And, if you aren’t doing it, your competitors likely are.

• 54% of consumers will cancel an order if shipping costs are too high, contributing to your overall abandoned cart rate. Seriously, imagine being *this* close to closing the deal, and your shipping cost boots the consumer out of the checkout. Not ideal.
• 52% of shoppers will buy more if they see an order amount threshold to receive free shipping. Be creative with your promotions, and use the lure of “free shipping” to increase your average order value. That way, it makes logical sense for the business to offer free shipping, without taking as much of a hit to your profit margin.

2. 78% of consumers state that a quick delivery method is important.

Not only do your shoppers expect increasingly cheaper shipping options, they also want those options to be fast. Shoppers are now expecting their products to be delivered in less than a week.

3. 75% of consumers won’t pay more than $10 for shipping.

If you still want to charge for shipping, just know that most shoppers won’t spend more than $10 on shipping costs and over half of those shoppers won’t pay more than $5.

Executive Summary

Ecommerce businesses of all sizes have to deal with shipping and fulfillment in some manner.

We understand that each business is unique in how they fulfill their products.

There seems to be a limitless amount of shipping and fulfillment management software in the market today, how do you pick the right one?

We have shipping recommendations for needs as simple as “I just need to print my USPS labels” to “I am a high volume, global business and need to get my items to customers across the world”.