UPS 2024 Holiday Shipping Deadlines

It’s no secret that expanding across borders presents a vast opportunity for business growth. In this article, we offer a complete roadmap for brands getting started with international shipping operations, emphasizing the importance it plays in reaching a global customer base and the significance of a streamlined process from start to delivery.

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Understanding the Significance of International Shipping

With internet users forecast to hit 5.17 billion in 2024, international shipping allows eCommerce businesses to tap into this growing market. This expansion beyond domestic borders opens the doors to more customers, increased revenue streams, market diversification, and enhanced brand visibility. It’s an opportunity that competitive brands can no longer afford to miss.

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Step-by-Step Guide to Starting International Shipping Operations

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Market Research and Targeting

Successful international shipping starts with comprehensive market research. This involves a thorough analysis of potential target markets, considering key factors like demand, competition, and cultural nuances that influence consumer behavior. In addition to identifying geographical locations, look into demographics to recognize which regions align best with specific products or services, optimizing and refining your market entry strategy.

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Partnering with Global Carriers

Selecting the right international carriers is crucial for successful global shipping operations. Choose carriers with a proven track record of timely and secure deliveries, as this not only enhances customer satisfaction but also helps build increased loyalty and trust in your brand. A partnership with reliable carriers is essential to a seamless international shipping experience, for both you and your customers. 

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Pricing and Currency Considerations

Build competitive pricing strategies tailored to international markets. Factor in currency exchange rates to provide transparent pricing, building customer trust and avoiding surprises during checkout. Additionally, establish any free shipping thresholds for international shoppers, helping to boost average order value and contributing to a positive shopping experience.

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Cross-Border Shipping Solutions

Explore tools and technologies that streamline the shipping process, including automated duties and taxes calculation. This not only facilitates a seamless experience for customers but also optimizes operational efficiency for your brand, allowing your team to focus on other important areas.

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Offering Multiple Shipping Options

As with payment options, products, etc, customers like to have choice and shipping is no different. This includes standard, expedited, and express shipping, each with clear delivery timeframes. Studies indicate that 22% of customers abandon their shopping carts because of slow delivery options. Providing multiple options ensures that customers can choose the shipping method that aligns with their urgency and budget constraints,

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Importance of Customer Communication

Communication is key, especially with international customers. Clear communication helps set expectations regarding shipping times, potential delays, and any associated costs like taxes or duties. Additionally, providing customers with real-time tracking information and updates helps to foster brand trust and improve customer satisfaction. However, it’s important to not go overboard. Make sure updates are relevant, helpful and do not come across as spam.

With so many variables at play with international shipping, sometimes things don’t go to plan. By addressing potential concerns beforehand is crucial, or communicating them as soon an issue arises, helps to position the business as customer-centric. In fact, studies show that effective communication can lead to increased customer loyalty and positive reviews.

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Implementing Technology for International Operations

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E-commerce Platforms and Integrations

The rapid growth of eCommerce has also spurred the development of cutting-edge integrations to help automate, streamline and simplify operations, including international shipping. These advanced solutions go beyond traditional functionalities by automating intricate shipping processes, ensuring accuracy and efficiency all while seamlessly integrating with a diverse range of global carriers. By utilizing such integrations, businesses can effectively navigate the complexities of global commerce, optimizing operational workflows and reducing manual errors.

‍Easily fill out customs forms and compare real-time competitive shipping rates to purchase international shipping labels via USPS, UPS or your own shipping carrier all within the VESYL app. Book a demo to learn how VESYL can level-up your shipping game.

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Tracking and Visibility

Customers want to know where their package is at every step of the way, making robust tracking and visibility tools invaluable to the international shipping experience. Providing customers with real-time updates on the status and location of their shipments adds a layer of transparency that is a must for customer satisfaction. These tools not only provide customers with accurate information, but also enable businesses to quickly and efficiently manage and address any potential issues that may arise during transit. This visibility helps to foster trust, and strengthen the brand-customer relationship.

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Evaluating Performance and Iterative Improvements

How can you improve if you’re not measuring? By delving into key metrics such as shipping times and customer satisfaction, businesses can gain invaluable insights into their logistical efficiency and identify any challenges or bottlenecks faced during the shipping process. This allows businesses to make data informed decisions to steer future improvements. Adopting an iterative strategy is equally crucial – it involves a continuous cycle of assessment. Utilize customer feedback to ensure a smooth customer experience. This not only helps you to identify any issues, but also positions you as a brand who listens to and values their customers, fostering a stronger customer relationship.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, starting international shipping operations is a key strategy for brands aspiring to reach a global audience and expand on their market presence. By following this guide, brands can navigate the complexities of international shipping, optimize their supply chain, and provide customers with a seamless cross-border experience.

Black Friday has become one of the biggest days of the year for e-commerce businesses. The surge in online shopping presents an immense opportunity for brands to boost sales, attract new customers, and build long-term loyalty.

However, the key to making Black Friday a raving success, is to prepare, plan and implement well in advance. In this article, we outline the best preparation steps, the most effective strategies, the timeline for starting these initiatives, and examples of brands leading the way.

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Preparation Steps for Black Friday Success

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1. Inventory Management

You can’t fulfill an increase in sales if you have no stock! Proper inventory management is crucial to avoid stockouts or overstocking. Begin by analyzing sales data from previous Black Fridays to predict demand for various products. Also analyze most and least popular products over the past year. Order additional stock of popular items and ensure your supply chain is robust enough to handle the increased demand.

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With this increased demand, leverage VESYL's shipping automations to do the fulfillment leg work for you.

2. Website Performance

Imagine you have an influx of new customers trying to checkout, but the page won’t load. A slow or crashing website can be disastrous on Black Friday. Conduct load testing to ensure your site can handle high traffic volumes. Optimize your site speed by compressing images, simplifying checkout processes and minimizing the use of heavy scripts.

3. Mobile Optimization

With a significant portion of shoppers using mobile devices, a mobile-friendly website is non-negotiable. Ensure your site is responsive, with fast load times and easy navigation on mobile devices. Simplify the checkout process, including implementing one-tap payment options like Apple Pay and Paypal to reduce cart abandonment rates.

4. Customer Service Readiness

Expect an influx of customer inquiries and issues. Prepare your customer service team to handle a substantial increase in tickets and processes to handle them efficiently. Implement chatbots, FAQ’s and automated responses to assist with basic queries and provide quick responses. It’s important to ensure customers can easily bypass these options and speak to a representative when needed.

5. Security Measures

Cybersecurity is critical during high-traffic periods. Ensure your site has up-to-date security measures, such as SSL certificates and secure payment gateways. Monitor for any suspicious activities and have protocols in place to address potential breaches.

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Effective Strategies for Black Friday

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1. Early Promotions and Teasers

Start building anticipation weeks before Black Friday by releasing teasers and early promotions. Use email marketing, social media, and your website to create a buzz around your upcoming deals. To reward your loyal customers, offer exclusive early-bird discounts and access to help them feel valued.

2. Personalized Marketing

Leverage customer data to send personalized offers and recommendations. Use segmentation to target specific customer groups with tailored promotions that resonate with their past purchasing behavior and preferences. For example, you can highlight products that compliment their original purchase.

3. Bundling and Upselling

By creating product bundles that offer value, brands can encourage higher spending and it’s a great way to move older and less popular products. With upselling, brands can suggest complementary products, a higher value item and bundles. This not only increases average order value but also enhances the customer shopping experience.

4. Limited-Time Offers

When offers run for long periods of time, customers lose interest. By creating a sense of urgency with limited-time offers and flash sales, FOMO motivates customers to take more immediate action. Scarcity is a powerful motivator for shoppers.

6. Retargeting Campaigns

Ever viewed a product, not purchased and seemingly had the ads follow you everywhere. Retargeting ads are an excellent way to reach customers who have previously visited your site but did not make a purchase. Personalized retargeting ads can remind them of the products they were interested in and offer special discounts to entice them back.

7. Enhanced User Experience

From start to checkout, ensure your user experience is pleasant. From having a clean and user-friendly layout and navigation, to informative product listings with complete size guides, pop up chatboxes providing any assistance to features like one-click checkout, guest checkout options, and multiple payment methods, a smooth experience is key to ensuring customers reach the checkout.

8. Post-Sale Engagement

Black Friday isn’t the end of the customer journey, it’s just the beginning. Follow up with personalized thank-you emails, request feedback, and offer exclusive post-sale discounts to encourage repeat purchases.

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Brands Leading the Way

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Amazon

Amazon sets the standard for Black Friday with extensive planning, early promotions, and efficient logistics. Their use of personalized marketing, and limited-time offers drives significant sales and customer engagement.

Walmart

Walmart excels in both online and offline for Black Friday. They seamlessly integrate e-commerce and in-store promotions, coupled with effective retargeting campaigns, ensuring they capture a large share of Black Friday customers.

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Conclusion

Black Friday presents a tremendous opportunity for e-commerce businesses, but strategic planning is the key. By focusing on inventory management, website performance, customer service readiness, and cybersecurity, businesses can lay a strong foundation. Implementing effective strategies like early promotions, personalized marketing, bundling, and limited-time offers will drive sales and customer loyalty. Finally, by learning from industry leaders, e-commerce businesses can maximize their Black Friday success and build a loyal customer base for the future.

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Streamline your e-commerce fulfillment ahead of the Black Friday rush with VESYL. Learn more or book a call with us today!

More than half of the world’s population are now on social media. That’s over 5 billion people! On the subway, in restaurants, anywhere, you can witness people on their favorite social media platforms, amounting to 1 out of every 3 minutes spent online. 

With such a vast number of potential customers at just a click away, this provides an unparalleled opportunity for brands to engage customers, drive sales, and build brand loyalty. In this article, we explore the most effective strategies for leveraging social commerce to boost e-commerce sales.

The Rise of Social Commerce

With the introduction of Facebook Shop back in 2020, the ability to shop within a social media platform is still relatively fresh. However, its convenience and immediacy has transformed social media platforms into a one stop shop with 47% of Americans having made a purchase through it.

The rise and continued growth of social commerce is not slowing either, with social commerce sales in the U.S. projected to reach $79.64 billion by 2025, according to eMarketer. Another report by Accenture estimates that global social commerce could grow three times faster than traditional e-commerce, reaching $1.2 trillion by 2025. 

This explosive growth is driven by the increasing time spent on social media, especially by younger demographics, and the continuous improvement in platform features facilitating more convenient shopping.

Why Brands Should Leverage Social Commerce

The blend of social interaction and convenient purchasing meets modern consumer expectations and offers unique opportunities to build relationships, increase visibility, and boost revenue. Here's why leveraging social commerce is essential for brands aiming to stay ahead in the competitive e-commerce landscape:

• Increased Reach and Visibility: As highlighted above, social media platforms have billions of active users.
• Enhanced Customer Engagement: Social commerce allows for direct interaction with consumers, fostering stronger relationships and brand loyalty.
• Streamlined Purchase Journey: By reducing the steps between discovery and purchase, social commerce minimizes drop-offs and enhances the customer experience.
• Data-Driven Insights: Social media platforms provide detailed analytics, helping brands understand customer behavior and preferences to tailor their strategies.

Key Strategies for Boosting E-commerce Sales through Social Commerce

Leverage Shoppable Posts and Stories

Shoppable posts and stories allow users to click on a product within a post and be directed to a purchase page without leaving the social media app. Platforms like Tik Tok, Instagram and Facebook have integrated shopping features that enable brands to tag products in posts and stories, making it easy for consumers to shop directly from their feeds. Platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce seamlessly integrate with Facebook and Instagram. A study by Instagram found that 70% of shopping enthusiasts turn to the platform for product discovery.

VESYL seamlessly integrates with major e-commerce platforms, so whether someone is shopping through a social media platform or your website, you can simply import all orders into VESYL for fast, simple and cost-competitive batch shipping.

Engage with Influencers

Influencer marketing is a powerful tool in social commerce. Collaborating with influencers who resonate with your target audience can amplify your reach and drive sales. Influencers can create authentic content showcasing your products, which can significantly impact purchasing decisions.

Utilize User-Generated Content (UGC)

User-generated content, such as customer reviews, photos, and videos, serves as authentic social proof. Encouraging your customers to share their experiences with your products on social media can enhance credibility and attract new customers. Nielsen reports that 92% of consumers trust UGC more than traditional advertising, making it a crucial element of social commerce.

Implement Social Media Ads with Precision Targeting

Social media platforms offer advanced targeting options that enable brands to reach specific demographics based on interests, behaviors, and past interactions. Crafting compelling ad campaigns that resonate with your audience significantly enhance engagement and sales. Facebook and Instagram ads, for instance, allow for retargeting users who have previously interacted with your brand, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

Host Live Shopping Events

Live shopping combines the immediacy of live streaming with the convenience of online shopping. These events allow brands to showcase products in real-time, answer questions, and engage with viewers, creating an interactive shopping experience. Platforms like Facebook Live, Instagram Live, and TikTok Live are ideal for hosting live shopping events.

Optimize for Mobile Shopping

Given that a significant portion of social media usage occurs on mobile devices, it’s crucial for brands to ensure their e-commerce sites are mobile-friendly. Fast load times, intuitive navigation, and a seamless checkout process on mobile devices are essential for capturing sales from social media referrals. Statista reports that mobile commerce accounted for 72.9% of total e-commerce sales in 2021, highlighting the importance of mobile optimization.

Measuring the Impact of Social Commerce

By effectively measuring the impact of your social commerce strategies, you can continuously improve and refine your social commerce strategies. To do this, track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as:

• Engagement Rates: Likes, comments, shares, and views on social media content.
• Click-Through Rates (CTR): The number of clicks your social media posts and ads receive.
• Conversion Rates: The percentage of social media users who make a purchase after clicking on your content.
• Average Order Value (AOV): The average amount spent by customers in a single transaction.
• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): The revenue generated for every dollar spent on social media advertising.

Tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, and Instagram Analytics provide detailed data to help you understand the effectiveness of your social commerce efforts and where adjustments may be needed.

In Summary

Social commerce offers brands a unique opportunity to drive sales and build lasting customer relationships. By leveraging shoppable posts, influencer partnerships, user-generated content, targeted ads, live shopping events, and mobile optimization, brands can harness the full potential of social commerce. As consumer behavior continues to evolve, staying ahead of these trends will be crucial for brands looking to thrive in the competitive e-commerce landscape.