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The power of shipping and return as marketing tools for B2C eCommerce



Did you know that 75% of online shoppers look at shipping costs before deciding whether to go ahead with a purchase? Not surprisingly, high delivery costs are the main reason for e-shoppers to abandon a filled shopping cart. But when customers are well informed and shipping goes without a hitch, they’re more likely to make future orders. What’s more, happy customers are more likely to write positive reviews and spread the word on social media, becoming your ambassadors. In short, taking care of your delivery and return process ensures you free marketing.
In this white paper you will discover how the delivery and return can impact the entire customer’s e-commerce journey.


The greatest benefit of a smart shipping and return policy lies in the value it adds to each unique customer journey. More important than the results in the area of shipping is the total impact on the whole process. By utilising shipping as a marketing tool in a targeted manner, an e-shop could significantly improve on three levels: 
Increased traffic 
A carefully considered shipping and return policy leads to satisfied customers. They become ambassadors of the e-shop and convince other consumers of the shop’s value. Thus more traffic flows to the e-shop, and many more visitors are converted into customers and, from there, perhaps even to ambassadors.
 Lower Cost Per Acquisition 
A crucially important factor for marketers is CPA (Cost Per Acquisition), which indicates the budget they must set aside for attracting clients. This will be a relatively high figure for e-shops that are just starting out, but eventually the rule ‘the lower, the better’ will become more relevant. This will leave an e-tailer with more of its budget to put into other investments. Once a good shipping and return policy is in place, the CPA can be lowered to a minimum. 
Increased Customer Lifetime Value
 An optimal shipping and return policy results not only in more customers for a smaller investment of funds; the quality of customers will also increase. They will start to spend more per order and they will return to the webshop more often. This is expressed as a higher CLV (Customer Lifetime Value). In an ideal scenario, the impact of a customer-friendly shipping and return policy is so great that marketeers are able to significantly drive down their traditional marketing budget without encroaching on earnings. This opens up a number of opportunities to test an e-tailer’s mettle. And herein lies the real power of shipping and return as marketing tools!
The postal sector is getting ready
 It is clear that a good shipping and return policy is crucial to the marketing strategy of every online shop. But aren’t e-tailers dependent on the existing delivery options in the market? 
Absolutely. This is why the logistics sector is already preparing for increased demand for services from both e-tailers and e-shoppers. The more e-commerce develops in a country, the more options become available and the competition increases. If e-tailers want to grow, one option is to go international. In contrast with physical shops, a website can, with few resources, be adapted to meet local needs. But it is of course important that postal services pave the way for this evolution. 
Initiatives are being developed in two different areas. 
For example, the European Commission recently published a roadmap16 setting out guidelines for the more efficient delivery of parcels within Europe. The Commission has set short-term objectives for tackling the obstacles that hinder the development of e-commerce. However, the European Commission has left the sector to come up with practical solutionsitself. An answer has now arisen from this discussion. A year ago, the International Post Corporation – a partnership between 24 postal operators from Europe, North America and Asia (territories together representing 80% of the global volume of mail) – launched a number of initiatives. These are based on the needs of the consumer and provide an answer to the increasing demand for services. 
What improvements are being made?
 • improvement of end-to-end tracking, including by the use of RFID technology 
• a cross-border return solution 
• consistent options for cross-border shipments
• harmonised processes • reliable service
• consistent consumer service 
By optimising the quality of their services and offering consumers different shipping options, postal operators not only stand to strengthen their own position, but also that of many SMEs with an online business. This should pave the way for further growth in e-commerce.


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