International Shipping & Order Fulfillment

All eCommerce sellers know that getting consumers to buy their products online is only half the battle. The other half (and more labor intensive half) is the shipping and order fulfillment portion of eCommerce selling. eCommerce gives you the opportunity to access a massive audience, and if you have a good product, your online sales are likely to explode once you break into internationally markets. If you're successfully selling your products online to a global audience, you are likely going to have a larger amount of international shipments to send to your customers. This rings especially true as consumers across the globe grow more and more comfortable with purchasing products from online storefronts. Let's look at how utilizing a fulfillment service or 3PL company can help extend your brand's reach and positively benefit your online storefront with lower shipping costs and faster delivery times.

Selling & Shipping eCommerce Products Internationally

There are an estimated 2.14 billion digital buyers globally, making up 27.6% of the world population.

It's no secret that more international orders will inevitably lead to higher shipping and logistics costs for your business, and this could potentially spell trouble for your profits. Especially so if you include shipping costs in your sales price or do flat-rate shipping charges for your online store. As an eCommerce guru, you know the difference between shipping a domestic order and an international order is probably quite large with your current shipping rates. The odds are you're probably paying significantly higher shipping rates on these international shipments than you should be if you aren't utilizing a fulfillment center's lower international shipping rates. Additionally, you don't necessarily want to pass those higher shipping costs directly onto your consumer - especially since high shipping costs are one of the top reasons that eCommerce consumers will abandon their carts.

Let's look a little further into the state of eCommerce from an international perspective to better understand your eCommerce business's global audience and your brand's potential reach:

International Order Fulfillment Costs

One of the enormous benefits of eCommerce and direct-to-consumer (DTC) online selling is the fact that you have access to so many more potential consumers, as shown above. And it's no secret - which is why the projected growth of global eCommerce sales is projected to hit $5.42 trillion by 2022.  More and more eCommerce businesses are growing into global markets everyday. And as the competition to capture the attention of consumers around the world increases, the advertising spend required to gain their online purchases increases as well. Sure enough, the average keyword bid cost increases 10% year-to-year regardless of industry - and sometimes these keywords can jump in price by 100% in a single week!  Couple that with the fact that your target audience is global, and you're likely looking at some fairly significant advertising costs to increase your Shopify sales and grow your eCommerce business' profits.

"57% of consumers have made an international purchase online in the past six months."

Beyond the increased cost of advertising, you may reach a point where your manufacturing costs are relatively fixed, but the cost it takes for goods to reach your consumer's doorstep is steadily increasing due to larger numbers of international shipments. If you're suffering from any of these realities, you may find yourself in a difficult situation when it comes to growing your eCommerce business and increasing profits. Plus, you have to make sure your orders are getting to your end-consumer as fast as possible to ensure positive customer reviews and minimal customer service issues for your WooCommerce, Shopify, or Amazon storefront. We all know slow or problematic shipping times or methods lead to negative customer reviews which can really hurt your brand.

The reality is that it's tough for most eCommerce merchants to select the most cost-effective and time-efficient shipping solution - and even if you are making those two choices correctly, you're probably paying way more than you would be if you utilized an international fulfillment center like PackYak that has far better shipping rates than you are able to access normally. The major benefit of utilizing a 3PL or fulfillment center is that you will be able to offer far faster delivery times with much lower shipping and logistics costs, letting you leverage that money you're saving into increased advertising or larger product purchases from your manufacturer. PackYak could be the most beneficial partnership your eCommerce brand makes when you consider the amount of money you can save on shipping and logistics costs, as well as the much faster delivery times that would be available to you.

Save Money on Shipping eCommerce Orders Internationally

PackYak is an international fulfillment center with a strong track record for optimizing international shipping for eCommerce brands to give them faster international delivery times and far lower international shipping and label costs. We can also help you navigate the complicated world of international shipments if you're just breaking into the global market and are getting overwhelmed with the process or terms like delivered-duty-paid. With spectacular, negotiated, international shipping rates that eCommerce storefronts cannot qualify for by themselves, PackYak can help you turn what is often a pain point for online sellers into one of your biggest strategic advantages over the competition.

When transforming your domestic brand into a global giant, PackYak is the perfect partner to grow with! Get in touch with our team today and we’ll orient your operation on the most effective path forward to assist you in your eCommerce brand's global expansion. Remember, there are an estimated 330 million Americans, but 7.9 billion people in the world! Let PackYak help you reach the planet while maximizing your profits! 

That's all for this week's edition of The New Yak Times, tune in next week and subscribe !