come back the Amazon Prime Day, July 12 and 13, Prime members will have access to tons of exclusive offers. While online retailers already have to register their deals months in advance, sale days offer plenty of opportunities for merchants to benefit from spikes in traffic.
A 84% of consumers say they regularly order from marketplaces and no less than 66% name Amazon as their favorite. Therefore, the online market has enormous potential to attract more customers and achieve further growth. However, selling on Amazon involves more than just offering a product.
In fact, sales start at the end: with a good shipping strategy. The vast majority of consumers (43%) identify delivery as the main reason for buying on marketplaces and their own research Sendcloud showed that 71% of consumers abandon their shopping cart when they do not have the desired delivery option.
Consequently, marketplaces strive to provide consumers with the desired delivery experience. To achieve this goal, they often require high requirements on the delivery service of external providers. Sellers who do not meet these requirements get a lower delivery score and therefore will never reach the number one position on a product page.
Shipping requirements may vary by market. Amazon, for example, bases a seller’s delivery score on three things: tracking rate, on-time delivery score, and seller-initiated cancellation score. In other words, Amazon controls the extent to which sellers share information correct tracking, they deliver on time and if the orders are processed correctly.
Thus, shipping through marketplaces can quickly turn into a complex situation. As third-party providers look for delivery options, a multi-carrier strategy is probably the only way to simultaneously meet technical requirements and satisfy customers. By combining multiple carriers, sellers are able to offer a mix of shipping options and save costs at the same time, a benefit to all.
Why? Not only does the multi-carrier strategy help reduce costs by combining rates from different carriers, the right mix of shipping options also benefits the overall delivery experience. Today’s consumers want to choose where, when and how a package is delivered, so offering flexibility is key to meeting customer requirements. If retailers are to meet these expectations, they will need to offer a mix of carriers.
Definitely, selling on marketplaces actually starts with shipping. If your shipping strategy is not properly designed, it will never appear at the top of a product page and can rule out good sales. By combining multiple carriers, sellers are able to offer a mix of shipping options and save costs at the same time.
