At Gooten, we take our partnerships with our merchants seriously. We are dedicated to offering best-in-class service and tools to grow your business. We are invested in your success, which is why we are excited to launch our new series on the future state of shipping. Keep reading for Part 1 and look out for the rest of the series to launch over the coming months.
The State of Shipping
When a consumer purchases a product from an online store, they are really purchasing two things: (1) the actual, physical product, and (2) the logistics associated with receiving the product, also known as the shipping.
There are a lot of moving pieces that go into sending a print-on-demand product from a manufacturer to the consumer’s shipping address—packaging and weighing the product, routing the package based on the selected shipping method, determining which carrier will pick up and drop off the package, tracking the order through the various checkpoints, and many, many more steps in coordinating a smooth transaction.
The overwhelming complexity of the shipping world can sometimes make merchants think of shipping as an afterthought—an amorphous black hole where products magically arrive at one’s doorstep. However, eCommerce shipping is an incredibly important aspect of every online store’s success.
According to the Metapack Consumer Research Report, 38% of consumers say they’ll never shop with a merchant again following a negative delivery experience.
That’s why at Gooten, we are determined to be your store’s Shipping Expert—so you don’t have to be. We want to help merchants detangle the complex world of shipping and explain what we’re doing to ensure the products you sell are delivered to your consumers on time and at the right price.
Resetting to the New Normal
The ongoing global health pandemic has irrevocably changed the current and future state of shipping. For business owners, these major shipping delays are rightfully frustrating, which is why we want to highlight the macroeconomic factors that are influencing these disruptions.
- An influx in eCommerce sales. As you may have seen with your own business, eCommerce sales have skyrocketed. In the US alone, online sales have increased by 25%. Many consumers are relying on online shopping even more due to stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines—in some ways, it is not only more convenient to shop online, but it is also the only way to get the goods they need.
- Limited number of workers. Shipping facilities all over the world have drastically adapted to new health guidelines, meaning fewer workers handling and delivering the now enormous number of packages people are sending.
- 50% reduction in commercial aircraft. With fewer people traveling around the world, the number of commercial aircrafts has significantly decreased. Because many of these aircrafts carry expedited packages, the reduced number of flights has caused shipping delays and increased shipping costs.
- Restricted movement between countries. International transit has been limited in order to halt the spread of COVID-19. These border closures have also affected transit times and have caused additional shipping delays.
While we are all itching to get back to business as usual, the reality is that we must operate and reset to a “new normal” where the above circumstances may prolong for years to come.
As a globally distributed production and logistics company, we are dedicated to being our merchant partners’ primary resource for all things shipping related. From routing orders more efficiently by localizing production to preventing delayed shipments by proactively monitoring reports and creating carrier redundancies, Gooten is your go-to shipping expert.
