Amazon changed the ecommerce game forever in 2004 by offering 2-day shipping, and since then, it has become a new competitive benchmark for the entire industry.

‍

Now in 2022, 2-day shipping isn’t a value-added service but has become a customer’s favourite shipping option that is expected from each and every ecommerce brand.

‍

This shipping standard has created immense pressure on ecommerce businesses, leaving them with 2 options to choose from—offer 2-day shipping or lose out to those who offer 2-day shipping.

‍

Well, for big ecommerce companies, it’s possible to make massive investments in infrastructure and technology required for achieving 2-day shipping. However, they often lack the expertise for maximum efficiency and cost savings. However, for small and medium-sized ecommerce businesses, it’s impossible to invest huge capital in shipping strategy.

‍

Believe it or not, it’s entirely possible to offer 2-day shipping for businesses of all sizes without burning a hole in your pockets—whether it's an investment or high shipping costs.

‍

In this blog, you’ll learn what is 2-day shipping, why providing 2-day shipping is important for ecommerce brands, and how ecommerce brands can offer 2-day shipping across India.

‍

What is 2-day shipping?

‍

2-day shipping refers to the shipping service in which online orders are sent from the fulfilment centre to the customer's doorstep within a time duration of 2 days.

Nowadays, 2-day shipping has become a fulfilment standard where an ecommerce brand takes 2 days or less to deliver an online order. This makes quick turnaround time (TAT) an absolute necessity for all ecommerce brands.

‍

Why does 2-day shipping matter?

‍

In this modern ecommerce landscape, ecommerce brands can’t win customers based on their product range alone. According to research, customer experience (CX) has become one of the biggest brand differentiators that separate ecommerce brands from the rest of the competition. As a matter of fact, shipping impacts the customer experience dramatically.

‍

• 1 out of 3 shoppers will choose one ecommerce brand over the other due to better shipping options.
• 79% of shoppers consider free 2-day shipping important for online shopping.
• 69% of customers are more likely to click a display ad that mentions fast/free shipping.
• 77% of customers are more likely to purchase an item if it could be delivered in 2 days or less.

‍

As you can see, shipping is inseparable from your overall customer experience strategy. If you’re going to be competitive in the ecommerce landscape, focusing on fast shipping is not optional.

‍

Here are the benefits of offering 2-day shipping:

1. Match the speed of ecommerce giants like Amazon, Flipkart, and major online retailers.
2. Meet customer expectations of fast shipping and delight them.
3. Reduce shopping cart abandonment as shoppers switch to other brands that provide faster delivery
4. Increase product visibility on marketplaces as shipping is a highly weighted criterion for better search results
5. Improve customer loyalty by reducing the wait time of customers and driving repeat purchases

‍

How to offer 2-day shipping while keeping costs low?

‍

1. Distribute your inventory

‍

Fulfilling your online orders from multiple locations is the best way to increase the shipping speed. For that, you need ecommerce warehouses across India in all the zones, i.e. North, East, South and West. You can split your inventory and store it closer to your customers to reduce transit times and achieve 2-day shipping—while saving on shipping costs significantly.

‍

Eshopbox enables ecommerce brands to leverage its distributed network of fulfilment centres spread across India to provide 2-day shipping without worrying about the location of your customers.

‍

2. Streamline order management and speed up order processing

‍

When you receive an order, you need to ensure that it is assigned to the picking team as quickly as possible. The pickers can then perform order processing, i.e. picking and packing using with secure packaging materials to protect your products in transit.

You can also automate warehouse operations by using advanced technology, including barcode scanners, and conveyor belts. This can help you to reduce the workload, the time spent, manual errors and money. Most importantly, you must ensure orders are marked ‘ready-to-ship’ and collected by the shipping partner promptly to ensure 2-day shipping.

‍

Eshopbox follows Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure on-time order processing throughout the order fulfilment process. You can also opt for priority pick and pack for orders that require faster turnarounds.

‍

3. Stick to SLAs of marketplaces

‍

Online marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra have strict fulfilment guidelines and predetermined shipping times that have to be met consistently. So while selling on marketplaces, you need to ensure that orders are marked ‘ready to ship’ on time, without a miss.

This way, you can reliably ship out orders to achieve 2-day shipping standards.

‍

Eshopbox adheres to the guidelines of every marketplace and their strict Service Level Agreement (SLAs) to ensure orders are processed within the required turnaround time (TAT).

‍

4. Utilise expedited courier services

‍

Once orders are ready to be shipped, you need an express delivery service by a courier service. For that, you have to partner up with multiple national carriers. Unfortunately, express delivery can get expensive as it’s unlikely for you to get access to bulk discounts and negotiated shipping rates owing to low order volume.

‍

Eshopbox has strong tie-ups with national, local and hyperlocal courier companies. You can also get access to discounted rates to provide 2-day shipping while minimising shipping expenses by taking advantage of Eshopbox's bulk delivery discounts. Moreover, 100% of your customers qualify for express delivery with over 29K pin code coverage across India while saving 45% off shipping costs.

‍

5. Optimise delivery routes

‍

In order to deliver orders faster, you must optimise your delivery routes. You can start by selecting the fastest and the most cost-effective routes possible. This means, your online order must be shipped automatically from the nearest fulfilment centre based on these things—inventory availability, customer location and SLA.

‍

Eshopbox leverages intelligent order routing to achieve the fastest and the most cost-efficient order deliveries. Additionally, Eshopbox's proprietary algorithm uses a combination of ground, air, and regional carriers to always deliver orders on time.

Let's take an example; you received an order from Pune. In that case, the order will be allocated to the nearest Eshopbox fulfilment centre (FC), i.e. Mumbai, to ensure 2-day shipping.

‍

6. Set minimum spend requirement for 2-day shipping

‍

According to a study, 52% of shoppers add extra products to their carts to meet a minimum purchase threshold for fast and free shipping. You can use this tactic to your advantage. For example, free 2-day shipping on all orders above INR 1500. This will help increase your Average Order Volume (AOV) to cover the cost of fast and free shipping.

‍

7. Improve customer lifetime value (CLTV)

‍

‍Research shows that the cost of acquiring new customers is 5X that of retaining existing customers. You can recover the cost of getting a sale from a new customer by encouraging existing customers to make repeat purchases. For that, you can introduce loyalty programs and subscriptions to drive more purchases from existing customers. This will help you improve the customer lifetime value (CLTV), and cover the cost of offering 2-day shipping. You can also provide product kits—pre-built kits and custom combos, upsells and memberships to reduce the average shipping cost.

‍

Wrapping up

‍

Shipping speed is becoming a priority in the ecommerce space. To maintain a competitive edge, you must unleash greater efficiencies, scalable infrastructure, and advanced technology. You can also outsource your fulfilment and watch yourself meeting 2-day shipping effortlessly while saving costs and creating a delightful shipping experience for your customers.