ShipperHQ’s top rated solution helps BigCommerce merchants take control of their shipping strategy at checkout.
Merchants large and small that own a BigCommerce store use ShipperHQ’s leading shipping rate management platform to create a shipping strategy that converts buyers at checkout.
BigCommerce and ShipperHQ have a time tested partnership. We’re proud to have worked closely with them and their merchants since our inception back in 2015.
Our partnership has been so successful because we share the same philosophy: we listen to what merchants want and need, and then provide the solutions that make their lives easier.
So how exactly do we compliment each other? Let’s take a look at how ShipperHQ helps BigCommerce merchants save money, and earn customer satisfaction, by automating shipping processes.
What is ShipperHQ for BigCommerce?
ShipperHQ is the leading shipping rate management solution for BigCommerce. Our cutting-edge shipping toolset make it easy to personalize the shipping rates and methods you offer customers online at checkout.
With ShipperHQ, you can:
- Create a long-term shipping strategy, or make changes on the fly
- Calculate dynamic, real-time shipping rates for 50+ carriers
- Automate order box selection for better and more accurate rates
- Present clear details at checkout like delivery dates
- Set up shipping-based discounts, promotions and surcharges
- Offer convenient shipping methods like curbside and alternative pickup
And that’s just the beginning.
Whether you want to reduce cart abandonment, lower your shipping costs, offer international shipping (or all of the above), ShipperHQ lets you tailor your checkout to align precisely with the way you run your business.
Our number one priority with ShipperHQ is to help merchants around the world leverage shipping to achieve ecommerce success.
Today, well-known BigCommerce brands like Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Shop Revelry and Paul Mitchell salons rely on ShipperHQ to configure their customized shipping experience online.
This includes setting up dimensional shipping, custom rules or restrictions and managing rates from multiple shipping origins.
8 Different Ways ShipperHQ Empowers BigCommerce Merchants to Master Their Shipping
As a merchant, it might be in your best interest to make shipping a selling point for your business. Maybe you are trying to increase your average order value and want to offer something like “free shipping over $X.” Or better yet, maybe you have good enough margins on shipping that you can afford to offer free shipping across the board. Whatever the case, there’s a way to put together a shipping strategy that actually works for you.
It’s not a long shot to be able to save time and money around your shipping. And also be competitive and create happy customer experiences.
Let’s run through a few ways that ShipperHQ empowers BigCommerce merchants to take charge of their shipping strategy at checkout.
1. You can save money on shipping
Do you sell items that are large but lightweight? Need to take into account more than just how many pounds or kilograms an items weighs?
ShipperHQ’s Dimensional Packing feature allows you to automate how your boxes are chosen for fulfillment. That way, your team can create more effective and efficient shipping processes.
Dimensional Packing identifies the best-fit box for any given order and instantly passes this information back to BigCommerce. It even allows you to set up unique packing rules for your products, including your big and heavy ones!
With this feature, your operations can match the checkout experience and rates quoted to your customers. Which means, you can reduce human error and save time and money all at once!
You can consider every container, ice pack and person-hour, and no longer worry that you’re hurting your bottom line with shipping.
Even losing a few cents per shipment can add up. With ShipperHQ, you can add surcharges on certain shipments to alleviate this pain.
Read more about how to use Dimensional Packing Rules in ShipperHQ
2. You can provide personalized shipping choices
Customers expect personalized delivery options from you. One customer may need your product right away while another is a value shopper seeking out the lowest price.
With live shipping rates from 50+ carriers small parcel and LTL freight carriers, you can pick and choose what you think will be most enticing to your customers. Or what just makes sense for what you sell, like 2-day delivery for perishable items.
Have a complex shipping use case? ShipperHQ has you covered.
For example, we have partnered with uShip for in-home furniture delivery and FedEx for same-day delivery services within the U.S.
By providing the type of delivery that’s right for your unique business, your store stays competitive and keeps your customers coming back again.
3. You can offer live rating for less-than-truckload (LTL) freight
For years, merchants who sold big or bulky items, or orders in large quantities, were forced to keep a freight company’s phone number handy. Salespeople spent hours calling around for freight quotes from different providers.
While some B2B companies are still in this predicament, your business doesn’t have to be one of them. ShipperHQ lets you display live freight rates in the cart and checkout from the most popular LTL providers.
Since they are always up-to-date, you’re no longer left potentially overcharging (and losing the customer to a competitor) or undercharging and losing money on offering freight shipping in itself.
4. You can provide actual delivery dates, not just estimates
The bottom line is that your customers want to know when to expect their orders. Maybe they’re waiting on a birthday gift before the special day arrives, or need to ensure someone is in the office to sign for a vital shipment.
Whatever the case, ShipperHQ’s Delivery Date & Time feature allows you to factor in your real-world operations so customers can see a true delivery date at checkout.
This includes:
- Blackout dates (no shipping on Saturday or Sunday)
- Cutoff times (i.e. orders placed after 5pm will ship the next business day)
- Lead times (to account for production, prep and packing)
- Maximum Time-in-Transit (like 2-day delivery for perishable goods)
By configuring these factors, you will create a reputation that enhances your brand and customer experience.
Read more about ShipperHQ’s Delivery Date & Time functionality
5. You can use shipping as a marketing tool
More and more, online customers are coming to expect free shipping, or at least for certain holidays like Christmas or Mother’s Day.
Sales and marketing departments love ShipperHQ because it’s easy to use shipping as a sales driver with Shipping Rules.
For example, you can use customer groups to offer only a portion of your base, perhaps your most loyal buyers, a deal on shipping.
Or maybe you want to offer free shipping when buyers purchase over a certain dollar amount from your store? It’s simple to set up a rule stating “Offer free ground shipping on orders over $X.”
You can also enable date-based shipping promotions if your business or marketing campaign revolves around holidays like Valentine’s Day or Black Friday.
Better yet, you can use Shipping Rules to customize these promotions so you don’t end up losing money on international shipping. Or if you’re shipping big or bulky products.
Really, your marketing and eCommerce team’s creativity is the limit here.
6. You can set shipping rules and restrictions
Have you ever been burned by how much you charged for shipping? Like, accidently shipping an item to a country where it’s not allowed. Or not charging enough for your unusually sized products like a refrigerator.
We get it. Every online merchant has their story of shipping woe.
Fortunately, with technology these days, you can customize your rates and methods with rules or restrictions, such as:
- Limiting free shipping to items under a certain weight
- Assign ground shipping only to certain products
- Offering flat rate shipping for the Contiguous 48 US states
- Prevent shipping products that are illegal in other countries
You don’t have to rely on your fulfillment department to spot when a shipment is about to go (perhaps literally) off the rails.
ShipperHQ’s automated Shipping Rules allow you to set rules and restrictions based on conditions like product type, geography, cart quantity, price and more.
Our robust rules allow you to set surcharges to offset your costs of shipping to places far off the beaten path, limit free shipping to lightweight products (to avoid having to ship a hot tub for free!), or provide a discount for bulk orders.
With ShipperHQ’s automation, you never have to be afraid that you’ll accidentally have to cover an unintended shipping charge.
7. You can manage shipping from multiple warehouses or suppliers
Do you work with multiple warehouses or dropship your products from different vendors? Managing how you calculate your shipping costs from all these places can be a headache to get right.
Thankfully, ShipperHQ allows you to manage your shipping rates from multiple locations. You can automatically get rates from the closest origin to a customer, or fewest number of locations, if you stock items at more than one place.
Through our Multi-Origin Shipping feature, your customers will receive their orders more quickly. You’ll eliminate the expense and hassle of shipping packages across the country when you could have shipped them from nearby.
Our more advanced options allow you to:
- Specify where your products are located (warehouse versus vendor)
- Rate out of the closest, or fewest number of shipping origins
- Fulfill from locations based on lowest average shipping cost
- Set zone restrictions to, for example, avoid shipping cross-border
- Create rules for shipping groups, such as always shipping ice cream separately from electronics
These are just a handful of the ways to manage your shipping rates from multiple warehouses. Whatever your situation, taking this into account allows you to generate the best rates possible. Plus, save you money if your shipping margins are too high.
Read more about ShipperHQ’s Multi-Origin Shipping feature
8. You can allow customers to buy online, pick-up in store (BOPIS)
BOPIS reduces shipping costs and eliminates them all together for your customer. Plus, it means they won’t have to stress over late delivery or stolen packages.
In-store pickup is also great for your bottom line because it increases foot traffic to your store. In fact, BOPIS sales have jumped more than 259% since last year.
If your online store extends to brick and mortar, you can setup ShipperHQ In-Store Pickup feature to give your customers the in-store pickup option right at checkout.
Don’t have a physical store? You can still take advantage of the power of BOPIS. Providers like FedEx and UPS offer the ability for your customers to pick up their orders at alternative delivery sites like lockers, pharmacies or their own retail locations across the U.S.
ShipperHQ – dedicated BigCommerce shipping experts for your store
After 10+ years serving tens of thousands of merchants worldwide, we know what online sellers want and need to be successful in this rapidly changing industry.
Our award-winning customer success team is approachable and passionate about solving your shipping problems. And with offices in the UK, Australia and the heart of Texas, we’re here to help no matter where you are.
Our team of eCommerce shipping experts are happy to get your BigCommerce store up and running in no time. With Consultation Services, Priority Support, and Configuration Services, we can guide you towards the best BigCommerce shipping strategy for your store.
Install BigCommerce’s most popular shipping app for rate customization. Get started with a free 15 day trial of ShipperHQ today.
