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Summer sales are traditionally a peak period for retailers and businesses across a range of industries. Some might assume that the ongoing pandemic would slow this down to some degree, researchers have found the exact opposite to be true, with even larger spikers than most years from May to June.

While social distancing policies and recommendations might be keeping people out of brick and mortar stores, they’re actually bolstering the sales for businesses such as e-commerce retailers. The summer has always seen a needed emphasis on better order fulfillment due to the additional demand and pressure on retailers. This year’s socially distanced summer of shopping may, however, create unique new challenges that need to be offset with solutions like Shipjoy that can help businesses deal with that demand.

Industries seeing a bigger boom of sales than ever

A lot of people are spending a lot more time at home than they would any other year. As such, the need for products that specifically suit the at-home lifestyle is continuously growing. This includes, for instance, the need to cook and eat more meals at home. Not only are general grocery and food delivery services seeing greater demand, but cooking appliance and utensil sales are on the up, as well, with select BBQ equipment providers seeing huge spikes in sales.

Another broad lifestyle change happening as a result of the emphasis on social distancing is that more people are working from home than ever before. As such, a lot of people are ordering office supplies, from basic pens and paper to desk organizers and other tools that help them better manage their home office.

These businesses are not the only examples of those facing a greater summer peak than ever before. They are, however, just examples of those who are seeing more demand and pressure on their existing order fulfillment processes and, thus, could benefit from solutions such as Shipjoy.

How social distancing affects your order fulfillment processes

Every business needs to prepare for peak seasons and the additional demand that they can create for your business. In terms of fulfillment and meeting orders, this might usually mean something as simple as having more drivers on the road making deliveries. However, the additional demand not only affects the physical movement of goods but also how you organize and track them as well. The significantly increased number of orders can test the limits of how you are currently organizing your order fulfillment resources, making it easy to lose track of goods, to miss deadlines, and to risk the displeasure of your customers.

As the summer continues to barrel on forward, moving from one peak season to another with back to school on the horizon, a lot of businesses are going to face even greater demand than usual thanks to a focus on social distance. To that end, the order fulfillment solutions provided by Shipjoy might be essential to streamline, automate, and better organize your processes for tracking and completing deliveries.

If there is a time of year for slower order fulfillment, it’s in the summer sales. People are on their vacations, enjoying themselves, and spending less time inside and ordering online and more time with friends and families. Don’t panic, though. There are plenty of things that you can do to boost those summer sales and even increase your order fulfillment.

Let’s take a look at the few ways you can change your summer sales numbers this year!

Offer New Discounts

People love a sale. A great deal with the right amount of money off will boost your summer sales pretty quickly. From offering discounts with a “Limited Time” to specific discount codes, your order fulfillment rates will shoot through the roof. As soon as you plaster your discount offerings all over social media and your website, your existing customers and new customers will flood in and take advantage of your offer. Don’t forget to offer these discounts to current customers, too, so that you can retain their loyalty!

Free Shipping On All Products

It doesn’t matter how long you offer it; free shipping is always going to appeal to customers. Whether you offer it for only a few items or choose to provide it across the board, you can bet your customers will be happy with free shipping when they order from you. All you need to do is make sure that you’re clear about any conditions.

Make Buying As Easy As Possible

Did you know that a quarter of all customers will start to shop and then abandon their carts before completion? It’s a pain for any business, but it can usually mean that a website is too slow or hard to navigate. Make sure that your website is easy to use, and your customers will find buying far easier. Tidying up your website will make it easier to read, and this can encourage customers to complete their purchase with you.

Build Great Customer Relationships

There are plenty of tools that you should be using to build trust and create a good relationship with your customers, such as allowing shares to social media, reviews, and even customer likes on your website. Asking your customers for feedback can help you develop as a brand, and it will boost your summer sales when people know they are buying from a trusted retailer.

Make Contact Easy

If you want to make sure that your customers trust you and want to buy from you this summer, think about how they can contact you. If you make it easy for people to get in touch, as we do at Shipjoy, you will find that customers feel reassured about buying from you. Your contact page has to have a phone number, an email address, and – ideally – social media links! If you can go for a chatbot option to be available at all times, do it. The more you can be contacted, the more people can get their questions answered.

Boosting your summer sales should be easy with these tips!

If you are running a business that requires you to fulfill orders, you need to consider whether you need a warehouse or an order fulfillment center. They’re both often confused and yet are used differently, with both providing different services.

What Is A Warehouse?

A warehouse is a large space that can hold your business inventory, and they have space for forklifts and large containers. There are large shelves that stack to the ceiling to hold large quantities of products, too. Warehouses are usually used by businesses that require wholesale orders and need somewhere to stock their products.

What Is A Fulfillment Center?

Fulfillment centers are the places a third-party logistics provider will complete order fulfillment for customers. It allows a business to get its customer orders out as soon as possible, and they exist to relieve eCommerce businesses of dealing with the process.

Their operations can ensure that your order gets from the fulfillment center to your customer doorstep, with the products stored here in preparation for an order. Once the purchase is complete, the product is packed into boxes and shipped on to the customer. Order fulfillment centers deal with business to business customers and business to customer orders, too, which go directly to the consumer. ShipJoy is an eCommerce fulfillment center operating over 350,000 square feet of warehousing space.

If you choose to outsource to a third-party logistics provider, you can find managing your inventory easier, your customer service greatly improved, and you can save your business time.

What Are The Key Differences?

There are some critical differences between warehouses and order fulfillment centers, and some of those include:

• Order fulfillment centers are designed for a fast turnover, where warehouses are to store products for longer.
• Order fulfillment centers are continually moving products out to customers. They’re complex, dealing with receiving inventory, picking list generation, product picking, packing boxes, labeling shipments, managing returns, and more. Operations in a warehouse are different, where inventory moves in and out without much else occurring.
• An order fulfillment center can have relationships with different carriers, but warehouses deal with pickups spaced further apart and mostly use pallets and individual shipping labels.

Why Use A Fulfillment Center?

There are plenty of reasons that you should use an order fulfillment center, and some of the most popular ones include:

• You no longer need to store inventory or pack boxes yourself, which is excellent if you are looking to save yourself time.
• You get to pass over the packing and shipping part of the equation and focus on areas of your business that truly matter – such as customer development and retention.
• If you’re unsure about the order fulfillment process, you can leave it to the experts to worry about the logistics!
• Introducing automation to your business can keep technology at the center of your order fulfillment services, making life easier for your customers.

Contact ShipJoy

Managing your business inventory and fulfilling orders is vital for your business. Contact ShipJoy today, and let’s see how we can help you!

Your business needs to be precise if you want it to succeed. That means being active on social media, building customer relationships, and offering the right products; your business needs to be as accurate as possible when it comes to order fulfillment. Inventory accuracy can make a big difference to your company and the way that customers think about you.

Your order fulfillment process needs to be as transparent as possible, but if your inventory accuracy is off? Your customers are not going to be happy, your reviews will be low, and you will lose the reputation you have built. It would help if you weren’t relying on outdated methods for order fulfillment, not when there is technology available to ensure inventory accuracy and a smooth supply chain process. So, what are the risks? What happens if you have poor inventory accuracy and order fulfillment?

You Can No Longer Track Trends

You need to be able to track what the trends are in your business, and the inability to do that is the biggest problem with regards to inventory accuracy. If you are dealing with a warehouse that lacks efficiency in the order fulfillment process, you can’t see where you can improve in the future. Your customer needs change, as do their purchase behaviors. It would help if you had real-time visibility, and without it, you will have a problem tracking actual trends.

Falling Behind The Competition

You choose an order fulfillment center like ShipJoy to ensure that you have great inventory accuracy and the most up to date technology in order fulfillment. Choosing ShipJoy ensures that your business is ahead of the curve. Poor inventory accuracy has a terrible effect on customer service, and as your customers cannot see how you are performing behind the scenes, their impression of you becomes as inaccurate as your inventory. You need to ensure that you are maintaining your inventory and order fulfillment, or your customers will go elsewhere for what they need.

Overstocking

Without inventory accuracy, you end up paying for more than you need with regard to your products. This is known as overstocking, which leads to you spending far more money on stock than necessary. The carrying costs go up, which means that your losses are higher with perishable products, too.

Poor Customer Experiences

People trust that a business will deliver their products in a timely and efficient way. If your business is not providing this because of inadequate order fulfillment, you’re going to lose your customers and create a poor impression of your business at the same time. You need to offer a high-quality customer experience, and if you cannot manage that, your competitors will reap the rewards instead.

Contact ShipJoy Today

When you want to eliminate the costs and issues associated with order fulfillment and poor inventory inaccuracy, you need to rely on an order fulfillment center to ensure an accurate inventory. Contact ShipJoy today and let’s talk about how we can help you to unlock the secrets to success for your business operations!

There are a number of different reasons why businesses should be looking to expand internationally. This includes the fact that there will be more brand expansion opportunities, as well as there being faster growth in global markets. Of course, the main reason why most businesses look to expand overseas is that they are going to be able to reach more customers. You may find that you have more customers in your target market in overseas locations. So, with that being said, in this blog post, we are going to provide you with some tips and advice on how to sell your product internationally.

Check Your Payment Provider

 The first thing you need to do is check that you can accept payments via your current payment provider. There are a lot of payment providers that have various restrictions and rules in place regarding what countries you can accept payments from. Look for a payment provider that has a strong global reputation if you need a new provider to assist with processing international payments. 

Calculate The Shipping Costs

 Of course, international shipping costs more, and this is something you are going to need to factor in when you put your strategy together. This is because of taxes, tariffs, distance, and a number of other factors. Prior to selling on a global basis, make sure that handling and shipping costs are calculated so you know that you are going to come out with a profit in the end. Not only does this include the international shipping fees, but you need to consider shipping supplies, warehousing, and fulfillment costs as well. 

Optimize Your Online Store

 Your store’s website is going to be your buying hub irrespective of where in the world your consumers are based. Depending on your business’ size, you may want to open unique online stores tailored to specific regions or countries. However, for most businesses, it makes more sense for their current website to be optimized for international buyers with language translation tools. You will see that a lot of businesses do this by having a flag icon on the top of their site so people can easily switch between different countries.

Get a Third-Party Fulfillment Partner

 Last but not least, it makes sense to team up with a third-party logistics partner who can assist you with virtually every element of order fulfillment and shipping when launching into a new international market. When you are researching the best provider, ask them about their global fulfillment services and how quickly they can help you to get set up. ShipJoy is the recommended choice. 

So there you have it: everything you need to know about how to break into the international eCommerce market. When you consider everything that has been discussed above, it is not difficult to see why more and more businesses are going global today. However, in order to do this, you need to have an effective strategy. We hope that the information that has been provided in this blog post will enable you to do exactly that.

Returns cut into your profit for a number of different reasons. Whenever you return an item, you need to account for more than just taking on the cost of the item that has been returned and the shipment of it. You also need to think about negative customer reviews, potentially losing a customer, disposing of the damaged items, and storage space for the returned items. With that in mind, it is imperative to have a return management process in place.

A returns management process is designed so that you can efficiently handle any product returns you receive from your online store, whether this a full refund or a partial refund, as well as deciding what to do with a product once it has been returned to you. 

Customer Service

The first thing that you should do when it comes to creating an optimized returns process is to upgrade the customer service you provide. Whenever an item is returned to you, you have the chance to connect with the customer. You can find out why they want the item to be returned and get their feedback about your products. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about what sort of things you could improve on. You could also create a loyal customer by offering them incentives and doing everything in your power to keep the relationship alive. 

Inventory Management

Aside from this, investing in inventory management is important. With a lot of customers adopting “try and return” habits, your company must manage its inventory adequately. Ensure that you always have returns that can be resold marked as “in stock” and that there is enough space within your storage. If you are experiencing a lot of returns and it is becoming difficult for you to manage, you should invest in inventory management software, which can enable you to manage inventory in real-time. 

Return Policy

You also need to make sure that you have a clear returns policy on your website. A lot of people that order from your site will often check your returns policy before they make a purchase. This is because they want to be reassured that they will be able to return items in a hassle-free manner if they are not happy with what they have received. This is why it is imperative to make sure your returns policy is clear and easy to understand.

Employee Training

Finally, educate your staff members about your returns process. You can collaborate to determine different ways to make your returns process as efficient as possible. If you are experiencing a lot of returns because of damaged items, for instance, you need to address your current packaging options to ensure this does not happen anymore. A lot of businesses will turn to third-party experts in order fulfillment, like ShipJoy, that can handle the returns process instead of it taking place in-house. 

As you can see, there are a number of different steps you can take to make sure that returns are managed efficiently at your business. If you follow the advice that has been provided above, you can help to make sure that you do not take such a big hit whenever an item is returned to you. No matter how great a job you do, returns are going to happen. When they inevitably do, we’re here to make the exchange as easy as possible. ShipJoy’s software ensures your logistics, accounting, and frustration departments are hassled as little as possible so you can focus on the happy customers. 

Subscription boxes deliver products on a recurring basis, for example, every month or every three months. These business models have become very popular over the past few years, as customers commit to making repeat purchases. You can get subscription boxes for everything from makeup and health supplements to alcohol and shoes nowadays! The items will be custom-picked based on your personal preferences. If you want to set-up a subscription box service, there are a number of important steps you need to take. 

Choose a niche and product with care

There is only one place to begin, and this is by determining what sort of niche you’re going to go for and what products you are going to include in your subscription boxes. What is going to make your business stand out from the crowd? For example, if you do a makeup box, what makes your makeup box different? This could be only including makeup that is 100% organic and natural, for instance. 

Some of the products that have proven to be very successful in subscription boxes include medical and digital health products, personal and self-care products, food, and razors. You need to think about a product that people are going to have use for on a recurring basis. You also need to think about something that can be packaged and delivered in a different way every month. Extensive customer research will be needed. You will then need to source the products as well and test them. 

Set-up exceptional logistics

 The best subscription box businesses are those that use bullet-proof logistics. Automating the order fulfillment process is imperative. It is worth looking into finding a reliable third-party logistics partner such as ShipJoy so that you can customize the experience for the customer. This can include bundles, kits, and rules so that customers can get the service that is right for them. You can then rely on the third-party business to pack and ship the products so that you do not have to worry about this. Instead, you can spend more time on perfecting and growing your business. 

Create a great website and an incredible unboxing experience

Finally, you are never going to be able to dominate the market if you don’t deliver an amazing unboxing experience. From marketing inserts to custom branded boxes, every little detail is going to enable you to create an unboxing experience that is memorable. After all, we all know the anticipation that we feel when we open a box for the first time and we wait to see what products are inside. You also need to ensure that your website is up to scratch sot hat people actually want to purchase your subscription boxes, to begin with.

As you can see, there are a number of different components that come together to create an incredible subscription box experience. If you consider all of the elements that have been discussed above, you should be able to create a great subscription box experience that will compete against those that have already been established in the market. Managing the unique order and inventory demands of a subscription business is challenging. With ShipJoy, you’ll have a proven team for your Subscription Box Fulfillment needs. We’ll keep your business organized, on-track, and delighting customers.

In recent years there has been a noticeable increase in Subscription box services. People seem to like the novelty and convenience of having their favorite items wrapped and delivered to them gift-like on a monthly basis. Alongside this increase in the product is an improvement in the quality of the distribution service offered by order fulfillment providers. This has improved brand performance in some cases and given them an edge over the competition. 

Challenges Of The Subscription Box Model 

The Subscription Box model is relatively simple on the surface; it should be no more complicated than choosing a product category, planning a monthly selection of items, and then implementing an effective marketing campaign to attract customers. However, the difference between and roughly assembled product and a quality selection is a difference that customers will notice immediately. 

With a Subscription Box quality is all-important. You need to build a brand that customers can trust. If the monthly Subscription Box contains what customers expect plus something novel to maintain interest, they will likely be satisfied with the product and continue subscribing. Retaining customers for Subscription Box services is a big challenge, made easier by knowing the product and niche thoroughly and ensuring quality. 

How To Build A Successful Box Brand 

As mentioned above the key to a successful Subscription Box service is quality. Marketing campaigns should be carefully curated to develop realistic expectations and a strong reputation. Along with quality, retaining membership is a key to success that every brand should have a strategy for long after the initial excitement has worn off. 

Issues encountered in this market include customer expectations, competition, and uniqueness of service. Firstly, customers expect a product that matches its description, at the very least. There must also be an option for easy cancellation if desired. Try to ensure you have many customer resolution options in place before cancellation takes place. 

This market is very competitive as most niches have a number of brands. Customers are unlikely to subscribe to more than one of them. But this also makes it easier for customers to switch services if they are unsatisfied. Incorporate this into your marketing campaign. Finally, it can be difficult for customers to distinguish between brands within a niche, find ways to raise the profile of your box above the rest with innovation and imagination. 

Successful Subscription Box Fulfillment 

When you have your Subscription Box business model up and running it’s time to look at your fulfillment processes. These should be efficient and reliable, particularly during the busy seasonal periods when distribution centers are struggling to keep up with demand. Your subscription boxes must still get through even if centers are working double time. 

Consider a third-party fulfillment provider such as ShipJoy to take care of your fulfillment requirements. There are many benefits to this: it takes the pressure off your business, handling important operational decisions to a professional. It frees up your time to spend on improving the quality of your product. Furthermore, it ensures customers will receive orders when expected due to an efficient distribution network. The product will also be delivered carefully.

If you’re an e-commerce or retail business, demand for your products and services can fluctuate throughout the year, but usually, the most demanding time will be in the fourth quarter. If you’re interested in running your business to its maximum efficiency, you should be reviewing its seasonality performance before the summer gets into full swing. How did your fulfillment solution handle high demand, what issues and inefficiencies did you encounter? Now is the time to analyze and optimize your order fulfillment process.

Fulfillment Solutions

When it comes to fulfilling your orders, particularly across your busy periods, there is no guarantee that your current logistics providers will be able to cover the volume. This can result in loss of earnings and reputation when it appears that you’ve failed your customers. It might seem like your current solution is adequate but it is worth reviewing especially ahead of the busy season. Ensure you do thorough research into your distributor for a bulletproof order fulfillment solution.

Peak Season Planning

For the majority of e-commerce and retail-based businesses, a significant portion of their annual income takes place across an eight to twelve week holiday period. It’s crucial to plan ahead and gets this right as any inefficiency in your supply chain will result in lost revenue, lost reputation, and the loss of valued customers to the competition. Don’t let this become a reality for your business, scale-up for the holiday period, ensure you have a distribution net wait that can fulfill orders within three business days or less. 

The Importance Of Scaling Up 

Knowing that the holiday season is the busiest time and most lucrative it makes sense to organize ahead of time, during the quiet spells. Your distribution center will be shifting from standard business hours, five days a week, to double shifts over seven days. It’s important that you contact your fulfillment solution ahead of time and discuss this increase in volume. Get written guarantees from your provider that the orders will be met and make sure they are held accountable.  

Is It Possible To Scale Up?

When you contact your distribution facilitator don’t take their word for it that seasonal orders can be fulfilled without any trouble. On the face of it that might seem to be the case but be sure to ask the right questions. During high demand periods, both people and machines will be operating at maximum capacity; there must be safeguards in place in case something goes wrong – people may fall ill or machinery could unexpectedly fail. Does your fulfillment provider have adequate cover for unexpected events?

Safeguarding Fulfillment Solutions 

At least once a year it’s important to re-evaluate your fulfillment solution. Review the holiday season from the year before, how efficient was it, what issues did you encounter? What could have happened that didn’t in the previous year? Asking questions about your provider and processes across this crucial period is the best way to optimize the efficiency of your business and improve the quality of your service year on year. Don’t get comfortable with your provider and miss out on valuable opportunities. 

ShipJoy is led by proven logistics experts who guide clients to eCommerce success. For over 25 years we’ve served global brands with premier logistics, freight forwarding, and warehousing support. With ShipJoy you’ll have the absolute best in technology, support, and customer service. We are committed to bringing joy into the lives of our customers and deliver simple solutions to complex eCommerce problems. Contact us today for more information.

With online shopping on the rise, eCommerce is becoming more popular than ever before. To find out what the future holds, take a look at these top eCommerce trends for 2020…

1. Post-Lockdown Sales Flurry

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every industry, although not necessarily in the same way. As more people turn to online shopping in a bid to overcome lockdown restrictions, a continued rise in online purchases is expected. 

2. Continued Growth

Expected to rise threefold in just seven years, the online shopping trend shows no signs of slowing down. With consumers happier than ever to buy online, businesses will need to ensure they facilitate user-friendly eCommerce options if they want to remain successful. 

3. Voice Commerce to Rise

The mainstream use of voice-activated devices has led to an increase in voice-controlled online searches. As you might expect, this has resulted in more people buying goods online via voice. With more people embracing the voice-activated method of surfing the internet, this is an eCommerce trend that will continue to grow. 

4. Mobile Shopping Becomes Even Bigger

The widespread availability of 4G connectivity and the introduction of 5G technology means people have access to super-fast mobile internet speeds. Statistics show that they’re putting these speeds to good use by making online purchases from smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. With Google pushing its ‘mobile-first’ indexing methods, it’s easy to see that this is an eCommerce trend that’s set to stay. 

5. Social Causes Play an Increasingly Important Role

Consumers are becoming more conscious of what they buy and where they source it from. The environment, in particular, is a major topic of concern and is reflected in consumer behavior. With many people actively seeking out a company’s green credentials before engaging with them, there will be increased demand for eco-friendly products and brands. 

6. Shopping on Social Media

Much of our lives are reflected in our social media profiles, so it’s not surprising that platforms are having an increasing influence on what we buy, how we buy it, and where we buy it from. For brands, reputable fulfillment companies, like ShipJoy, make it easy to accept orders from a variety of online locations. Whether you’re selling from your own website, a well-known marketplace, or via social media, the right fulfillment firm makes it easy to operate a successful eCommerce business. 

7. Augmented Reality Becomes More Mainstream

As technological capabilities increase, more retailers will be using augmented reality to showcase their products. Allowing consumers to experience products before they buy, this eCommerce trend means online shopping is going to become even more user friendly in 2020.

8. Personalization is on the Rise 

Personalized marketing is important to the majority of consumers, so it’s something brands should be paying attention too. With increased automation, personalizing your marketing content can be simple and straightforward, so don’t overlook the opportunities it can offer. 

9. Visual Commerce Expands

Instead of featuring standard, static product images on your site, think outside the box when you’re advertising your goods. User-generated content, product placements, and interactive content is all part of visual commerce but expect the trend to grow this year. 

10. Artificial Intelligence to Enhance eCommerce

AI is capable of facilitating access to reams of data and making it useable. For businesses, this means you can learn more about your target audience, prompt more meaningful engagement, and deliver a superior service. If you aren’t focusing on incorporating AI into your operations, you should be. 

Preparing for the Future of eCommerce

Technology always evolves rapidly, so it’s important to stay up to date when it comes to the latest eCommerce trends. By staying one step ahead of your competitors, you can establish your brand as forward-thinking and innovative, as well as increasing your sales and boosting your profitability. 

Learn how ShipJoy’s purpose-built technology can help you rise above the competition.