The USPS rate hike kicked in on Jan. 17, 2016. While not all rates were affected, a 23.5 percent increase in rates was rolled out on certain classes of mail and many retailers are worried. There's no reason to jump off the digital cliff just yet however.
Recent studies have found that the cost of shipping is often linked to conversions or shopping cart abandonment reasons. One early 2015 study from Statista found that 56 percent of shoppers abandon the shopping cart due to shipping cost, and 74 percent want low-cost or free shipping to be offered. High shipping costs do affect conversion, so is there anything that can be done?
Ecommerce shipping software and automated turn management solution TrueShip, for example, is aiming to help online retailers beat the rate hikes with their Flat Rate Select discount USPS Priority Mail shipping option. The Flat Rate Select offering is included with each active license of ReadyShipper multicarrier shipping software, connecting ReadyShipper users to savings on USPS Priority Mail and Express Mail services on packages up to 20-pounds. This enables online retailers to predict their shipping cost in advance (on many of their most commonly shipped items), and they can project the savings, helping to protect their bottom line. What's more, it enables e-retailers to send packages for less via USPS Priority Mail and Express Mail, which means they can offer lower shipping prices with fast delivery to attract more sales.
"Shipping prices and conversions are directly linked in ecommerce," explained Michael Lazar, Director of Online Marketing at TrueShip. "With Flat Rate Select, ReadyShipper users can offer faster, cheaper shipping to every customer to increase conversions exponentially. It's a smart, easy and simple way to beat the USPS rate increases while more efficiently and accurately shipping your orders to customers."