Recently, Shoplazza has partnerd with Shippo to lower the barriers to shipping for businesses around the world and help Shoplazza’s merchants grow by empowering them with the leading shipping solution tool needed to save time and money.
We recently sat down with the Shippo team to learn more about their founding story, what sets them apart from the competition, and what they see as the biggest opportunities for e-commerce merchants today.
The Story behind Shippo
After initially starting their own e-commerce business in business school, our founders Laura Behrens Wu and Simon Kreuz realized just how complex and challenging shipping can be. Between standing in line at the post office, manually comparing rates across carriers, and having to understand logistical challenges such as tracking and returns, it became clear this was a very real problem that every single e-commerce business needed to solve. Following the advice of a close mentor, they set out to build a painkiller – not a vitamin – to solve the shipping pain points that plague many e-commerce businesses.
Deliverying a Simplified Shipping Solution for Merchants
All e-commerce businesses need to ship, but because shipping is a physical process connecting the online to the offline, it can be incredibly difficult to navigate. Shippo simplifies that process with seamless workflows that sync e-commerce platform orders directly with our shipping solution, offers instant access to lower shipping rates from a network of over 85 carriers, and enables easy label printing, scheduled pick-ups, simplified return shipping, and more.
Essentially, Shippo connects the entire journey from the e-commerce cart to fulfillment, shipping, tracking, and returns. We act as the shipping team for our 120K e-commerce merchants – an extension of e-commerce businesses that helps them get packages out the door and to their destinations faster.
How the Shippo Experience Sets Itself Apart
Providing a good shipping experience has become table stakes, and Shippo makes it easier than ever for merchants to do just that all from one place. We provide transparency across 85+ shipping providers nationwide and globally. Using our web app or API, our customers get instant access to available rates across carriers and service-levels, as well as the ability to select the best shipping option for their needs. We’re also able to leverage our network’s high package volume to negotiate great rates, then pass those rates along to our customers to help them optimize shipping costs as much as possible.
With Shippo, merchants can print their shipping labels, schedule pick-ups, simplify return shipping for their customers, and more, all without having to be an e-commerce expert. We make sure anyone running an e-commerce business is better equipped to ship, and also has the tools they need to be competitive in the face of ever-rising consumer expectations. Additionally, from sales to implementation to ongoing support, we have a team that is ready to help e-commerce merchants navigate every aspect and challenge within shipping operations.
The Biggest Challenges and Opportunities for Merchants This Year
As supply chain snafus continue and carrier surcharges mount, it will be challenging for e-commerce merchants to optimize fulfillment costs while remaining competitive in an increasingly consumer-friendly market.
The uncertainty that comes with rising inflation costs and current economic conditions is also requiring merchants to think more strategically about how shipping costs and operations impact their businesses. They should focus on building out resiliency within their supply chain, and establishing relationships with multiple suppliers and carriers, so there’s an easy opportunity to pivot should something in that operational workflow break.
If e-commerce merchants can do their best to meet the modern consumer where their expectations are, the sky really is the limit, both in terms of driving more conversions and revenue upfront, and building a loyal customer base that keeps coming back to purchase more. While 60% of consumers say they’ll break up with a brand over a subpar experience, 97% also say they’ll do business with that brand again if the problem is addressed immediately to turn a negative experience into a positive one, highlighting the impact of having a customer-first mindset when building your e-commerce strategies.
Shippo’s Advice for Merchants Looking to Grow Business
The best ways to optimize your e-commerce shipping operations are to 1) diversify your carrier mix to find the right fit for every shipment, 2) leverage technology such as Shippo to help optimize costs in one place, and 3) understand your margins so you can address your customers’ preferences (such as free shipping or returns) without losing out on revenue.
E-commerce is complex. Shipping doesn’t have to be. Shippo helps you grow your business by integrating with your workflows, providing experienced support, and connecting you with easy access to the best rates from 85+ carriers around the globe. Just like our 120,000+ customers, Shippo can help you grow into the future with confidence.
