If you are seeking a reputable and dependable shipping carrier for your eCommerce business, it might take some effort and brainstorming to identify the right one from so many options.
We understand what you are going through.
Your eCom store is growing consistently and making steady sales every week. However, you are worried about the shipping delays customers are facing and raising issues. If you don’t address these issues right now, you might end up losing a lot of customers.
E-commerce is a highly competitive market, and your orders need to reach customers faster than your competitors.
If you are mainly concerned about the shipping cost and hand over the delivery responsibility to a postal company, there will be increasing instances of late deliveries or lost packages.
Without wasting much time, you need to find a solution and fast. The best solution is to find a shipping carrier with a high success rate, along with reasonable shipping charges.
When finding the right shipping company for your eCom store, you need to consider several factors. We will discuss that in a later section.
Why Should You Hire a Quality Shipping Carrier?
Why do you need a quality shipping carrier in the first place?
Well, the answer is, “For your customers.”
If you don’t partner with a reliable carrier now, your parcels may not reach customers on time.
It could result in losing many of your customers, and they will find another eCommerce store for better service.
Here are some crucial statistics about the significance of efficient order fulfillment:
- 83% of customers think that accurate and convenient order fulfillment is crucial in their purchasing decisions
- 55% of customers will change to another retailer if it delivers orders faster.
- 82% of satisfied customers tend to share their positive experiences of receiving timely deliveries with family and friends.
- A survey by the shipping giant UPS reveals that 71% of shoppers consider free shipping as the top reason to buy something from a retail store.
- 41% of customers said during an Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) survey that they discarded their shopping cart after finding out the delivery options are not convenient.
The data above shows why you must fix the shipping woes of your eCommerce store.
It’s not worth taking too much risk of hiring an average carrier and losing customers to your competitors. Fixing this aspect of your business will stabilize the operation and make your customers happy with timely delivery.
Things You Should and Shouldn’t Do When Choosing a Shipping Carrier
The following are a few dos and don’ts when choosing a shipping carrier for your retail business.
The Dos:
- Give a clear and accurate outline of your measurable key performance indicators (KPIs)
- Assess if your retail store is ready for the worst-case scenario
The Don’ts
- Don’t choose a carrier only because it is close to your location
- Don’t forget to ask for a trial period
- Don’t sign a long-term contract without a thorough performance review
- Don’t prioritize low shipping cost before service quality.
5 Ways to find the Best Shipping Company for Your eCommerce Store
- Check if the Carrier Can Fulfill Your Orders & Customer Delivery Needs
Check with the shipping carrier you shortlist if it can fulfill your orders and deliver them to customers fast. Also, how they can help lower your shipping costs with proper packaging.
You should know the accurate weight and dimensions of your shipping boxes and cost you need to pay.
During the initial discussion with the carrier, don’t forget to discuss the location of your majority of customers, delivery speed, delivery timeline and how much shipping fees your customers are willing to shell out.
All the discussed factors should influence your decision when selecting a shipping carrier for your eCommerce store. If the carrier can efficiently fulfill these requirements, they are worth choosing.
- Find Out the Carrier’s Industry Experience and Delivery Speed
Find out the industry experience of the shipping carrier and their process of delivering parcels on time, since it can make or break your business.
You can either go for the tried or test method of picking reputable shipping giant with a proven track record or relatively smaller carriers with a high level of efficiency and reasonable shipping rates.
Ask questions if the carrier delivers parcels to both domestic and international locations by combining several shipping services.
A reliable shipping carrier can help your eCommerce store grow by improving your shipping success rate and making customers happy.
Factors, including the delivery speed, tracking facility, and shipping charges are crucial for eCommerce businesses. The delivery statistics below show the importance of fast delivery:
- A Statista report revealed that 43% of customers want faster delivery of their parcels.
- Over 80% of customers expect same-day delivery.
When looking for a shipping carrier, the first factor you should take into account is their parcel delivery speed. Another key factor is the shipping costs. The faster delivery speed should not take away a major chunk of your profit.
Also, the carrier should provide a delivery schedule a minimum of a week in advance to avoid shipping delays.
During unforeseen events, the carrier should have a backup plan ready to divert a shipment if there are obstacles. Considering these factors is essential before you take the final call.
- Verify if the Carrier Offers Quality Tracking Feature
When running a direct-to-consumer (DTC) or an eCommerce store, you should be able to track your orders.
When choosing a shipping carrier, you should verify if the company can provide a detailed tracking facility to know your shipment location and whether it will deliver on time or not.
Often the tracking feature helps you communicate the estimated delivery timeline to your customers.
By partnering with a leading carrier that offers an integrated shipping solution, you will be able to track all your orders from a single platform. You can check your orders’ whereabouts by entering the Order ID or the tracking number.
- Compare the Shipping Prices of Different Carriers
Shipping cost is a key factor. Higher shipping cost of a carrier company can surpass your budget, and take a major portion of your profit. To maintain your profit, you have to pass on the shipping cost to your customers, and might end up losing quite a few of them.
You need to figure out the shipping cost that will maintain your profit and keep your customers happy. However, before doing that, you need to compare the shipping cost of various carriers.
Many shipping carriers might offer really cheap shipping services but before falling for those offers, you have to make sure they are not compromising on quality.
Some of the carriers have hidden surcharges in their pricing. This is why try getting information on shipping rates from well-known carriers that offer a transparent pricing model.
- Find Out if the Carrier Provide 24/7 Customer Service
Resolving soaring customer complaints about shipping is not a pleasant experience. Any delivery delay or lack of troubleshooting customers’ issues could lead to grudges and dissatisfaction.
This is why pick a shipping carrier that is reliable and responsive to customers’ queries and has a team stand by to provide 24/7 customer service over phone, email, and chat.
Make sure to ask the shipping carrier about their customer service channels, easy communication with customer support executives, and the resolution rate.
Best Shipping Companies for Your eCommerce Business
Canada is an emerging eCommerce market and its revenue is projected to hit $65.55 billion in 2024. It makes Canada one of the largest global eCommerce markets.
To maintain this fast growth rate, Canada has many shipping companies, which offer reasonable rates and reliable services.
For your eCommerce store, you should hire a carrier based on the factors, such as affordable rates, shipping speed, and reliability.
Not only the global shipping giants, Canada has numerous other shipping carriers that can efficiently fulfill your orders and offer fast delivery.
Top Shipping Companies to Choose From
All major shipping giants operate in Canada. Besides, there are prominent shipping carriers that offer efficient domestic and international shipping and give a lot of options to eCommerce business owners.
Choose the right shipping company for your eCom store from this list of carriers:
If you are seeking a truly affordable and highly efficient shipping service, ShippingChimp is ideal for that. ShippingChimp is the No.1 eCommerce shipping carrier trusted by several popular Canadian companies.
If you partner with ShippingChimp, you can save as much as 53 percent on your eCommerce shipping costs, irrespective of the destination.
The key benefits of hiring ShippingChimp are below:
- You will get efficient shipping service at reasonable rates. There are comprehensive services starting from generating labels to fast delivery.
- You will get personalized shipping alerts. Accordingly, you can notify your customers about the updated shipping status and provide an excellent post-purchase experience.
- ShippingChimp will help your eCommerce store to grow with the post-checkout experience of your customers by providing the order tracking feature.
- ShippingChimp offers free pick up and free insurance for up to $100 .
ShippingChimp offers the best eCommerce shipping service as it offers:
- Shipping at the most competitive rate.
- Tracking every order during shipping.
- Keeping customers updated and happy.
FedEx began its operations in 1971, in the US, and later spread its wings in different parts of the world. The carrier operates in Canada through FedEx Ground and FedEx Express/FedEx Air.
FedEx ships parcels across Canada, to the US, and other overseas locations with a turnaround time beginning from one day up to several weeks for economy shipping.
The tracking feature is integrated with all FedEx shipping services. Also, FedEx is the only global carrier that has incorporated the signature confirmation from the recipients during the delivery.
The carrier has built its reputation worldwide based on its efficiency and reliability. However, it does not offer cheaper shipping service.
Hailed as the country’s national courier, Canada Post is the largest carrier for domestic shipping.
Beginning its operation in 1867, Canada Post soon became the go-to courier for sending mail and parcels to the addresses in Canada.
Canada Post’s widespread network comprises 6,200 post office locations, which makes shipping convenient and affordable.
The courier also offers additional services, including signature confirmation and shipping insurance.
Apart from its domestic shipping services, Canada Post also offers international shipping to more than 190 countries.
The domestic shipping services of Canada Post are below:
- Regular parcel delivery between 2 and 9 business days;
- Priority shipping with next-day delivery guaranteed;
- Xpresspost shipping delivers parcels in 2 or less business days;
- Flat rate shipping takes between 1 and 7 business days to deliver parcels.
Read more about Canada Post shipping in this guide.
Overseas shipping services are below:
- Priority Worldwide that takes 2 to 3 business days to deliver orders, guaranteed
- Xpresspost International takes between 4 and 7 business days to deliver parcels
- Xpresspost USA takes 2 to 3 business days to deliver orders, guaranteed
- Tracked Packet USA that takes 4 to 7 business days to deliver orders.
Purolator is one of the leading shipping carriers that have created a niche for itself for its efficient and affordable domestic and overseas shipping.
Purolator can ship parcels to 99 percent of addresses in Canada through its extensive shipping network, which includes economy, same-day, or next-day.
The carrier provides international shipping through its partnership with UPS and ships parcels from Canada to more than 210 countries.
The shipping process of Purolator is smooth, along with fast delivery turnaround time.
Purolator provides the following domestic shipping services:
- Purolator Ground takes 2 to 4 days business days to deliver orders;
- Purolator Express takes 1 to 2 business days to deliver orders.
Canpar is said to be the second-biggest shipping carrier in the country with 62 delivery hubs spread across Canada.
The carrier provides specialized domestic ground shipping and expedited service between major cities like Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and others.
The carrier also provides efficient international shipping to more than 200 countries.
The most popular shipping services of Canpar are below:
- Canpar Ground shipping that delivers parcels in 1 to 4 business days;
- Canpar Overnight shipping delivers parcels in 1 to 6 business days;
- Canpar Letter Select takes between 2 and 10 business days to deliver packages;
- Canpar International shipping delivers parcels in 2 to 10 business days.
Read all about shipping with Canpar here.
UPS is world’s largest express parcel delivery service provider. Similar to FedEx, UPS has earned its name for fast and reliable shipping. However, it may not be a cheaper option for your business.
UPS ships all over Canada, to the US, and various international locations.
You can send parcels via UPS Ground for economy shipping or UPS overnight for expedited delivery between 1 and 2 business days, guaranteed.
If you want fast shipping to customers, then UPS is ideal, although the shipping cost will be higher. For a quick comparison between UPS and FedEx, check out this blog.
DHL is one of the shipping giants that provide efficient domestic and international shipping.
With its headquarters in Germany, DHL even ships parcels to some of the banned countries like Cuba and Iran at a cheaper rates than UPS and FedEx.
DHL’s operations are not as extensive in North America as other global carriers but provide domestic as well as cross-border shipping. DHL also boasts of having one of the quickest shipping services between Canada and the US.
The carrier provides different shipping features, including free tracking facility, delivery confirmation, shipping insurance, weekend delivery, and others.
DTDC has been providing shipping services in Canada for more than 25 years and operates in over 10,000 locations. The carrier provides overseas shipping to over 240 countries.
DTDC can offer you personalized services at affordable rates for shipping and warehouse fulfillment.
Apart from incorporating automation to lower unnecessary operational costs, DTDC warehouses boast 24/7 security and temperature control to keep the parcels safe.
Besides providing a range of domestic and international shipping at reasonable rates, DTDC also provides services related to the custom clearance procedures.
DB Schenker is another leading shipping carrier in Canada, providing its services for over 50 years. The company has offices spread across 2000 locations worldwide.
The diverse services of the company ensure that it can efficiently manage high volume of shipment of any industry, including eCommerce.
DB Schenker has a dedicated portal called ‘ESchenker’ for managing shipping, tracking orders, and data analytics. ESchenker also allows customers by providing 24/7 support.
General Logistics Systems or GLS, earlier operated under the company named Dicom. Later, it was acquired in 2018. GLS is based in Quebec that provides fast delivery across the country.
The carrier operates with 28 shipping terminals, specializes in delivering parcels to Quebec and Ontario. In fact, the carrier delivers 95 percent of parcels in Quebec within 24 hours.
The company also provides specialized freight shipping for eCommerce businesses that need to ship plenty of orders.
GLS offers overseas shipping via its partner network. Hiring GLS is particularly useful if you need to ship parcels mainly to Ontario and Quebec.
Grow Your eCommerce Store Partnering with a Reliable Shipping Carrier
While running an eCommerce store, you can choose the right shipping carrier from the options listed above.
Apart from the global shipping giants like FedEx, UPS, and DHL, opting for carriers, such as ShippingChimp, Purolator, Canada Post, and Canpar can prove to be great for your business are due to their discounted shipping rates and highly efficient services.
If you are looking for long-term partnership with a carrier, partnering with Canada’s No.1 eCommerce shipping carrier ShippingChimp can save up to 53 percent of shipping cost, fast delivery, and real-time shipment tracking. Check out ShippingChimp’s pricing for more information on our competitive rates.
Other carriers too can provide high level of domestic and international shipping services, tracking feature, notifications, and easy return will make your life easy.
Considering various factors mentioned in this blog, you can choose the ideal shipping carrier for your D2C business.
Eventually, you have to make the final call about choosing an ideal shipping carrier for your eCommerce store.
Think of your business objectives, shipping needs, budget, and brand value before making an informed decision. Look for a carrier that ticks all the boxes that we talked about earlier for the best outcome.
- How to Choose the Right Shipping Company for Your eCom Store - September 2, 2024
- Is Canada Post Too Expensive for Your Ecommerce Business? - August 23, 2024
- Top 10 Shipping Carriers to Ship from Canada to the US - August 13, 2024
