Standard Shipping Explained: What It Is and What to Consider for Cost-effective Delivery
The term ‘standard shipping’ is widely used in eCommerce. But it means very little unless we actually give it some context.
An effective standard shipping service will provide businesses with a good balance of shipping cost versus delivery speed, ensuring customers receive their orders in a timely manner while still maximizing profit margins.
But how long does standard shipping take, and what postal services should you consider when exploring changes to your shipping strategy?
What is standard shipping, really?
‘Standard shipping’ is a generic term used in eCommerce to describe the basic shipping option offered at the checkout by an online store. Usually, standard shipping services are an affordable ground shipping option that guarantees delivery to the customer within a few days domestically, though standard international shipping services will typically take longer.
It’s important to note that ‘standard shipping’ is simply an industry label and doesn’t guarantee any particular delivery speed or the use of one parcel carrier over another. Rather, this is the wording that customers will see at the eCommerce checkout. In most cases, the customer won’t be told what courier service is used or what the service is; they will just see the default shipping option and the delivery timeframe.
How does standard shipping differ between brands?
The standard shipping offered by one eCommerce brand may differ drastically from another, depending on factors such as geographic location, customer location, the size of the business, and the goods being shipped. For example, if an eCommerce business is only catering to customers within a 10-mile radius, their standard shipping service could be next-day delivery or e even same-day delivery due to the short distance.
However, if a customer in Hawaii is getting a parcel delivered from the mainland, standard delivery timelines could be as long as 7-10 business days. Normally, standard shipping is whatever the cheapest delivery option is for the majority of customers.
The advantages of offering a standard shipping service in eCommerce
A predictable and reliable shipping service
Standard shipping services will rarely equate to an expedited shipping method for eCommerce brands, as this would be too expensive to offer as the baseline option. The main purpose of standard shipping options is to give customers reassurance by offering a reliable timeframe for both international and domestic deliveries and managing delivery expectations accordingly. Ideally, standard shipping options should fall into that sweet spot where delivery times are not rapid, but delivery windows don’t leave the customer waiting for more than a few business days for their order.
Standardizing your shipping strategy
The key benefit of standard shipping services is that they provide a solid linchpin to plan the rest of your shipping strategy around. Given that the vast majority of online orders are shipped using your standard delivery method, this makes it easier for you to plan your order fulfillment strategy and inventory management system to meet the shipping cut-off time this method requires.
Standard shipping also makes it easier to see where your business needs to augment its shipping services to offer customers more flexibility. For example, if you’ve elected for ____ to be your standard delivery option, which takes ___ business days or fewer, this gives you a good foundation to add some expedited shipping services to cater to customers who require more urgent mail services.
Keeping free shipping affordable
If you want to offer free shipping to customers, offering free standard shipping when shipping domestically enables your business to meet customer expectations while preventing shipping costs from spiraling. You can also choose to only offer free standard shipping to shoppers who meet a certain value threshold or hold a certain loyalty status with your brand. This provides a solid incentive for customers to purchase more and become repeat business.
Common standard shipping services in eCommerce
There is a range of standard mail services available to eCommerce businesses who are looking for reliable standard delivery services. These include:
UPS standard shipping
- UPS Ground
- UPS 3 Day Select
- UPS Worldwide Economy
Fedex standard shipping
- FedEx Home Delivery
- FedEx Ground
- FedEx Express Saver
USPS standard shipping
- USPS Ground Advantage
- USPS Priority Mail
- USPS Priority Mail Express
How to manage standard shipping effectively in eCommerce
Clearly communicate to your customers what standard shipping is
The delivery time guaranteed by standard shipping can differ markedly between brands, so you need to be proactive in setting the right delivery expectations with your customers.
When shoppers head to the checkout, the standard shipping option should give them an estimated delivery date so customers can decide whether they are happy with the speed or need to select an express shipping option. This helps to avoid customers complaining about ‘late’ delivery and increasing demand for customer support.
Use dynamic rate selection to keep standard shipping costs down
While it’s simpler to designate one postal service as your standard shipping option, this lack of flexibility means you may end up paying more than necessary to ship to a certain delivery destination. A dynamic rate selection system, also known as ‘rate shopping’, will automatically select the optimum shipping rates based on factors such as package size, weight, delivery destination, and shipping carrier rates. This ensures that you are always choosing the most cost-effective shipping option for each order.
Offer other shipping options to your customers
No matter how hard you try to find a standard shipping option that will make all of your customers happy, this is simply not possible. Every customer has different needs that demand different delivery times and methods; some will need overnight delivery to ensure a gift arrives on time, while cost-conscious customers will want the cheapest shipping method they can get. Offering multiple shipping options that encompass standard and express shipping will boost customer satisfaction by allowing customers to choose the delivery speed that best suits their needs and budget.
Decide whether flat-rate shipping may be suitable for standard delivery
Many flat-rate shipping methods will charge a predetermined rate for a package regardless of distance, so long as the contents fit within the packaging supplied by the carrier. This economy shipping option can massively simplify the shipping process for both you and your customers, especially as your business doesn’t need to supply its own packaging. However, it’s important to check first whether a flat-rate option is suitable for your business’s needs. If most of your orders are only traveling a short distance, flat-rate shipping will likely work out as more expensive than standard ground shipping, so it pays (literally) to do your research.
Offer shipment tracking
Because most standard shipping offers a longer delivery timeframe, customers often want reassurance that their order is progressing as it should and will meet the estimated delivery date. Offering free tracking with all orders allows customers to check the status of their packages in real-time, reducing anxiety and reducing the number of ‘WISMO’ queries that your team has to manage.
In sum, standard shipping provides eCommerce brands with a reliable and cost-effective shipping option that underpins their entire shipping strategy. However, it’s important to note that standard shipping does not denote a particular delivery time or postal service. In order to keep standard shipping cost-effective, it’s a good idea to use more than one shipping service to cater to the demands of different customer orders. Moreover, key considerations for managing standard shipping effectively include clear communication with customers, offering multiple standard and express shipping options, and leveraging shipment tracking to provide more transparency. By getting standard shipping right, you are paving the way for better delivery experiences – and happier customers.
