Why Offer A Warranty

What Makes A World-Class Warranty?

Clear and Transparent Terms

Flexible and Comprehensive Coverage

Prompt and Hassle-Free Claims Process

Outdoor Goods Brands Leading The Way

Pale Blue

Pale Blue keeps customers “charged for life” with their clear and simple warranty returns. They feature the information on their home page which links directly to their dedicated warranties page, clearly explaining the terms and the instructions to make a claim. They also feature a shortened version of this information on the product listing page.

Their warranty terms clearly state they stand behind their products, however, does not cover wear and tear or misuse such as exposure to adverse environmental conditions such as rain or submersion in water or excessive heat or thermal cycling.

Patagonia

Patagonia is renowned in the outdoors realm as one of the leaders in customer and product care. Their “Ironclad Guarantee” means they “guarantee everything they make” and provide simple instructions for any product that falls below that. This does not cover products for general wear and tear, however, they do provide a reasonably priced repair service outside of the warranty terms. 

The North Face

The North Face ensures customers don’t miss their lifetime warranty by including it directly underneath the “add to cart” button. This opens into a pop on the product listing page itself outlining the warranty terms with a link to the warranty page with more in-depth information and full instructions on how to make a claim. This gives customers all of the information at their fingertips without having to search through the website, allowing them to make a better-informed decision.

The North Face clearly outlines their lifetime warranty covers any manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship for the lifetime of the product, however, it does not cover accidents and general wear and tear.

How To Implement World-Class Warranties

In Conclusion

In today’s digital landscape, the expansion of e-commerce across borders is more accessible than ever, providing unparalleled growth opportunities for brands. As international commerce continues to grow, optimizing the shipping process for a seamless and positive experience is key for success. 

In this article, we’ve teamed up with international shipping solution provider and experts, Passport Shipping, to delve into the key strategies and considerations that empower businesses to thrive in the global commerce.

The Benefits of International Shipping for E-commerce Brands

Embracing international shipping is not just an option for e-commerce brands, but instead a necessity for sustained growth and relevance in today’s global market. We’ve outlined some of the top benefits of international commerce below.

Market Expansion

International shipping opens doors to a vast and diverse customer base. With an estimated 2.71 billion digital buyers worldwide for 2024, venturing into global commerce allows brands to significantly broaden their reach and customer demographics. With this increased reach, it’s still just as crucial for brands to build out their buyer personas across borders.

Increased Revenue Streams

In short, expanding into global markets means more chances to sell products. A study from McKinsey & Company found that companies reaching international customers grow their revenue much faster than those focusing only on local markets. Using international shipping allows brands to access new sources of income and reduces the risks linked to depending only on local sales.

Competitive Edge

Expanding globally positions e-commerce brands as industry leaders. A report by Accenture notes that companies embracing global strategies tend to outperform their competitors, emphasizing the importance of thinking beyond domestic boundaries.

The Fundamentals of International Shipping

As Passport Shipping says, “Going global is complex, not complicated”. To get started, brands must understand and plan the fundamentals of international shipping, all starting with research:

• Market Research and Target Selection: Identify potential international markets based on factors like demand, cultural compatibility, and regulatory environment. Conduct in-depth market research and analyze web analytics to prioritize regions with high interest.
• Shipping Strategy: Develop a comprehensive shipping strategy that aligns with the chosen target markets. Determine shipping methods, carriers, and fulfillment models based on the unique requirements of each region.
• Regulatory Compliance: Understand and comply with shipping regulations, customs requirements, and import/export restrictions in each target market. Provide accurate documentation, including HS codes, customs valuation, and goods descriptions.
• Transparent Cost Communication: Clearly communicate shipping costs, taxes, and duties to customers upfront to avoid surprises and build trust. Implement a transparent pricing structure that aligns with international market standards.
• Operational Efficiency: Optimize logistics and supply chain processes to ensure timely and secure deliveries. Implement efficient tracking systems to monitor shipments throughout their journey.
• Packaging Adaptation: Adapt packaging to withstand international transit and comply with destination-specific regulations. Ensure that packaging aligns with product protection standards and minimizes the risk of damage. This is also a great opportunity to source more eco-friendly, reusable, and sustainable packaging options.
• Collaboration with International Shipping Partners: Establish strategic partnerships with reliable international shipping providers. Ensure that partners can deliver timely and secure shipments, aligning with customer expectations.
• Customer Communication: Provide clear and transparent communication about shipping times, tracking information, and delivery expectations. Address customer inquiries promptly to enhance satisfaction and trust.
• Efficient Returns Process: Develop a streamlined process for handling international returns, ensuring customer convenience and satisfaction. Clearly communicate return policies to customers in compliance with international regulations.
• Continuous Optimization: Regularly evaluate and optimize international shipping strategies based on customer feedback, market dynamics, and changing regulations. Stay informed about industry trends and technological advancements that can enhance the efficiency of global shipping operations.

Top Strategies To Streamline International Shipping Processes

Optimizing international shipping begins with the strategic selection of target markets. Prioritize regions that demonstrate interest through web analytics, or share cultural similarities with a thriving e-commerce landscape. Once these key markets have been identified, the focus should shift to operational efficiency. It’s crucial to understand each country’s unique import regulations and ensure compliance, in order to avoid potential delays or unexpected costs. This includes providing accurate HS codes, customs valuation, goods descriptions, and other required documentation, as well as following tax guidelines. 

Additionally, it’s imperative to be transparent about shipping costs and communicate delivery times to customers. Partnering with an experienced internationalization solutions provider can alleviate the logistical and compliance challenges that come with global expansion and expedite growth. By implementing these strategies, companies can achieve a more streamlined, cost-effective, and customer-centric international shipping process.

How is Passport Shipping Simplifying International Shipping For Brands?

Passport is an international solutions provider that helps brands go global, easily. We do this with growth advisory and localization services, internationalization technology – including branded tracking pages and real-time duty & tax calculation and collection during checkout – and in-house shipping and compliance capabilities. With a new all-in-one internationalization solution, Passport Global, over 90 DTC 3PLs in our global network, and integrations with all major TMS platforms, we have enabled more than 1,000 merchants of all sizes to seamlessly access over 180 countries worldwide.

To learn more about the company, offerings, and careers, visit passportshipping.com.

What Important Regulations Should a Brand Consider With International Shipping?

When selling products internationally, brands must consider the specific import regulations in each country they ship to. Ensuring that products comply with the safety and regulatory standards of each market, by adhering to local restrictions or prohibitions, is essential to avoid customs issues. Maintaining proper documentation, along with awareness of quantity limits and personal use exemptions, is also crucial for trade compliance. 

Additionally, understanding the duties and taxes imposed by different countries is important, as these can significantly affect pricing for international customers. This requires understanding the tax de minimis and distance selling thresholds, as well as any other fiscal obligations. Compliance is vital not only to avoid legal complications but also to streamline logistics and maintain competitiveness in international e-commerce.

In Summary: Embracing Global Growth with Strategic Confidence

Armed with the knowledge outlined above in addition to leveraging industry experts and solution providers like Passport Shipping, brands can confidently navigate the international e-commerce landscape, ensuring legal compliance, logistic efficiency, sustained competitiveness, and understanding duties and taxes.

The landscape of eCommerce is quickly evolving and growing, and staying ahead of the curve is crucial for brands. As we kick off 2024, we’ve outlined our top 5 2024 eCommerce trends for brands to follow this year.

Authenticity and Trust

For  2024, success for brands extends far beyond transactions. It demands authenticity and trustworthiness. With the eCommerce space becoming increasingly busy, and the increase in scams and fraud, it’s crucial for brands to cultivate an honest and authentic image. A key part of this lies in social proof. Brands that actively curate and showcase genuine reviews and testimonials not only establish credibility but also foster a sense of trust among consumers. These reviews and testimonials can be prompted by a sequenced email after the purchase. To encourage these reviews, brands can offer a discount code or gift for the customer’s next purchase.

Additionally, with half of the shoppers worldwide on social media, it’s crucial to actively engage and respond to comments, queries, and feedback on any posts. It does not only start the conversation with a potential or existing customer, but also helps to foster brand trust for other potential customers who see the post. Building an authentic and trustworthy brand is not just limited to 2024. As the landscape shifts over the years, this will always prove to be a winning strategy for eCommerce brands.

Sustainable eCommerce Practices

Consumer consciousness about environmental impact continues to rise, prompting brands to adopt more sustainable practices. From eco-friendly packaging, carbon-neutral shipping options, impactful products, and supporting green initiatives. There are a plethora of options for brands to get started or continue along their sustainable path. For example, a brand can switch to packaging that can be repurposed for customers. Some swimwear brands have switched from single-use plastic bags to reusable and sealable pouches that can be used to place wet swimwear, makeup, sunscreen, or anything else that you wouldn’t want to leak in your beach bag. Alternatively, offering refillable products or subscriptions helps to save on the initial packaging and demonstrates that the brand values sustainability.

Sustainability is not just a trend but is now a demand by consumers. With this, it’s crucial to be transparent with consumers about the brand’s sustainable efforts. Greenwashing has become an increasingly common practice. Therefore being transparent, helps to increase brand trust and loyalty.

Learn how Corso can help your brand to become more sustainable completely free.

More Direct Lines Of Communication

In the realm of eCommerce, where same-day deliveries have become commonplace, consumers are pressing brands to utilize more immediate and direct means of communication. Recognizing these demands, brands need to consider more direct options such as text messaging and direct messaging to foster immediate and personalized interactions. Providing these direct, responsive, and tailored lines of communication helps to resolve any queries swiftly and also assists in building a stronger foundation of trust and loyalty between brands and consumers.

Voice Commerce on the Rise

Voice-activated devices and virtual assistants have become increasingly popular over the past year and are reshaping how consumers interact with eCommerce platforms. The convenience of hands-free shopping through voice commands is gaining popularity. Brands need to optimize their online presence for voice search, ensuring that products and services are easily discoverable through platforms like Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant.

Personalization Through Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI-powered personalization in eCommerce has helped to expand on conventional recommendations and drastically enhance the customer experience. Through advanced data analysis, AI not only refines existing personalization strategies. It also tailors product suggestions, content, and promotional offers in alignment with each customer’s unique preferences. Additionally, AI is not only relevant in the present but also can be optimized to predict these personalizations in the future. This allows brands to make personal and relevant recommendations in alignment with their customers changing needs.

In addition to enhancing present and future personalizations, AI can help to deliver a deeper understanding of consumer trends and patterns. As a result, businesses can utilize this information to make informed decisions that ultimately increase customer satisfaction, drive higher conversion rates, and adjust inventory numbers.

Wrapping Up

Wrapping up, brands that proactively embrace these trends and integrate them into their eCommerce strategies will position themselves as innovators in the space, forging stronger connections with their audience and driving sustainable growth.

Whether you’re shopping for him, her, the little ones, or seeking budget-friendly options under $25, we’ve gathered a sleigh-full of thoughtful and delightful gift ideas. Let the festivities begin as you explore our handpicked selection of Christmas Gift Ideas For Everyone, ensuring smiles all around this Christmas!

Gifts For Her

Passion Footwear

Fashionable and convertible high heels for the practical fashionista in your life. Yup, it’s genius!

PashionFootwear.com

SheFit

Supportive and adjustable activewear for cup sizes A – I, for the superwoman and go-getter. Providing support in all the right places.

SheFit.com

The Golden Secrets

Clean, conscious, and sustainable skincare for the ladies who deserve some extra TLC. 

TheGoldenSecrets.com

Montce Swimwear

Swimwear and apparel designed with an obsessive focus on fit. Because it’s always summer somewhere ….

Montce.com

Joy Dravecky Jewelry

Vintage, modern, and timeless jewelry. Gift a little extra sparkle this Christmas.

JoyDraveckyJewelry.com

Gifts For Him

Dagne Dover

Every day and travel bags designed for humans getting the most out of life.

DagneDover.com

Blenders Eyewear

Stylish sunglasses and snow goggles.

BlendersEyewear.com

Buscadero Motorcycles

Vintage style pit bikes and apparel.

BuscaderoMotorcycles.com

Nation Golf

Swanky and classic golf apparel, for the established gentleman in your life.

NationGolfCo.com

Pactimo

Cycling clothing for every climate and adventure.

Pactimo.com

Gifts For The Little Ones

Mochi Kids

Clothes for kids who want to wear what they love.

MochiKids.com

Of One Sea

Hawaiian swimwear for the entire family exclusively made prints on recycled fabric.

OfOneSea.com

Bohemian Mama

Sustainable + conscious shopping destination for women, children, home, baby, play & more.

BohemianMama.com

Summer In May

A brand of season-less kids’ styles, unisex designs, and simplicity.

SummerInMay.com

Little Rad Things

Vintage-inspired kid’s clothing.

LittleRadThings.com

Gifts For Under $25

Kinfield

Vegan, Leaping Bunny Certified, and made safe for people + planet skincare.

Kinfield.com

Fresh Roasted Coffee

Eco-friendly and fresh-roasted coffee.

FreshRoastedCoffee.com

The Kind Pet

Sustainable products for the love of our pets and planet.

TheKindPet.com

BruMate

Innovative, convenient and everyday drinkware and coolers.

BruMate.com

Krave Beauty

Empowering a movement of simplicity by urging you to step back, press reset, and listen to your skin’s true needs.

KraveBeauty.com

As the holiday season approaches, brands are gearing up for one of the most lucrative times of the year: Black Friday and the subsequent holiday shopping frenzy. To make the most of this opportunity, it’s key to ensure a seamless and optimized checkout process. A frictionless checkout experience not only boosts sales but also fosters customer loyalty. In this article, we’ll explore the top five ways brands can optimize their checkout process to offer an enhanced customer experience during this period and beyond.

Implement a Guest Checkout Option

One common roadblock that leads to cart abandonment is the mandatory account creation during checkout. In fact, 24% of customers abandoned their carts online because the store asked them to create an account. While it’s important to encourage customer registration for long-term engagement, offering a guest checkout option is crucial, especially during high-demand periods. For those making a quick one-time purchase, it can be frustrating to have to fill out time-consuming forms. By providing a guest checkout, the process is quick, simple, and pain-free. Once they’ve completed their purchase, you can provide the option to save their information for future visits. This helps to gradually encourage them to become registered users. 

Streamline the Checkout Form

Lengthy and complex checkout forms can be a major turn-off for customers, with the average checkout containing 23 fields. Simplify the process by asking for only essential information. Minimize the number of fields and use smart forms that auto-fill information wherever possible. Additionally, consider implementing an address validation system to prevent errors and reduce friction. Offering alternative payment methods like PayPal and digital wallets can also expedite the process for customers who prefer not to enter their credit card information manually.

For Shopify Plus merchants, the checkout UI extension allows brands to fully customize their checkout to offer features such as upsells, custom banners, and loyalty programs. It also allows merchants to customize the layout for checkout integrations like Corso Green Shipping Protection. Brands can arrange their checkout tactically for a seamless checkout experience.

Learn more about Shopify UI Extensions and Corso Green Shipping Protection here.

Provide Clear Progress Indicators

During the checkout process, customers should have a clear understanding of where they are and how many steps are left to complete the purchase. Progress indicators help customers gauge how much time and effort they need to invest. Implement a step-by-step visual guide that highlights the current step and allows users to navigate back to previous stages if needed. Additionally, adding a quick summary of their information before confirming the order, allows one last check to reduce the risk of incorrect information or typos. Transparency in the checkout process fosters a sense of control and reduces anxiety for shoppers.

Optimize for Mobile Devices

With the rise in mobile shopping, it’s imperative to optimize the checkout process for mobile devices. Ensure that your website is responsive and that everything on the checkout page is mobile-friendly. This includes larger buttons and fields for touchscreens, easy navigation, and a seamless experience across various screen sizes and orientations. Implement mobile payment options like Apple Pay and Google Wallet to expedite the process even further for mobile users.

Offer Real-Time Support

Customers may have questions or concerns during the checkout process, and providing real-time support can be a game-changer. Implement live chat or chatbots to assist customers in real time. Chatbots can handle common inquiries, such as shipping information and return policies, while live chat allows customers to connect with a human agent for more complex issues such as sizing or stock questions. Prompt and helpful support can resolve issues before they lead to cart abandonment and improve the overall experience.

One of our favorite tools for quick, efficient, and real-time support is Gorgias. Within the Gorgias help desk, you can offer customer support through live chat, social media, and text, engage with customers on ads before they even reach your website, and handle claims and CS tickets all in one place.

Conclusion

In the competitive world of e-commerce, optimizing the checkout process is not just a luxury but a necessity. Particularly during high-stakes shopping seasons like Black Friday and the holiday season. A smooth and user-friendly checkout experience can make the difference between a successful sale and an abandoned cart. By implementing the top five strategies discussed in this article, brands can enhance the customer experience, boost sales, and build lasting customer loyalty.

As you prepare for the upcoming holiday shopping rush, remember that the checkout process is the final frontier where you can make a lasting impression on your customers. Prioritize user experience and convenience, and you’ll be well on your way to a successful holiday season.

In 2022, Cyber Monday became the biggest day of online sales in US history with consumers spending $35.4 billion online over the five-day period. Amongst such a vast sea of brands all trying to snag their piece of this multi-billion dollar pie, it’s crucial to make your brand stand out. To help you navigate the process without feeling overwhelmed, we’ve outlined practical steps on How to Attract More Customers to Your Store this Black Friday.

Use Compelling Discounts and Offers

Most people are unaware of how Black Friday began. However, they are very much aware of those killer deals. Brands can strategically leverage irresistible discounts and offers to captivate a larger audience this Black Friday. Creating well-calculated percentage discounts, buy-one-get-one (BOGO) deals, limited-time offers, bundled deals, and enticing gift-with-purchase incentives, creates excitement and encourages visitors to explore and shop. It’s important to plan these offers ahead of time so brands can calculate discounts, bundle slower-selling items, and assess and prepare inventory.

Add a Sense Of Urgency

To increase customer engagement this Black Friday, brands can create a sense of urgency in their offers and deals. By employing strategies such as limited-time promotions, countdown timers, and exclusive early access, brands create a compelling narrative that demands immediate action. Crafting time-sensitive discounts and emphasizing scarcity triggers a fear of missing out (FOMO). This motivates customers to seize the opportunity. Furthermore, clear and concise communication of the time-sensitive nature of these deals through social media and email campaigns reinforces the urgency. In turn, this inspires a surge of already eager shoppers.

Offer Early Access

Black Friday provides the perfect opportunity to demonstrate appreciation for already loyal and previous customers by offering them exclusive early access to deals. Extending a sneak peek of deals helps brands to foster deeper connections. Email marketing has become a powerful tool to communicate this. Craft personalized emails that express gratitude and highlight the benefits of early access. It’s vital to strategically time these email campaigns with engaging subject lines, enticing visuals, and clear CTAs. All of which effectively convey the exclusivity and urgency of the offerings. 

Implement Strategic Advertising 

By leveraging online platforms such as pay-per-click (PPC) ads and social media advertising, brands can precisely target desired audience segments. Using compelling ad copy, eye-catching visuals, and irresistible call-to-action statements. This helps to stop shoppers in their tracks and click through to the store. By utilizing data-driven insights, brands can optimize ad placements and timing for maximum impact. Strategic advertising serves as a bridge between brands and potential customers. This helps to extend the visibility of Black Friday deals and drive an influx of eager shoppers.

Utilize Social Media Campaigns

Social media campaigns can help to ignite excitement and attract a broader customer base. By creating captivating posts, stories, and videos that spotlight exclusive deals and promotions, brands can tap into the vast audience of social media. Employing visually engaging content, accompanied by relevant hashtags and compelling captions, helps to reach a wider audience and increase engagement. Furthermore, sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses and customer testimonials fosters authenticity and connection. With a strategic blend of content, brands can use social media to spark a buzz, enticing customers to shop those brands this Black Friday.

Remember, successful Black Friday campaigns often involve a combination of these strategies. Tailor your approach to your target audience and make sure to provide a seamless shopping experience to convert potential customers into loyal ones.

Learn more about how Corso Green Shipping Protection can help your brand promote sustainability this Black Friday Cyber Monday.

With the increase in hours spent on social media and a rise of influencers combined with a surge in scams and untrustworthy ads and sites, it’s no surprise that referral programs have become increasingly popular. In fact, people are 4 times more likely to buy when referred by a friend with a 16% longer lifetime value compared to non-referred customers. By implementing a referral program, brands can promote their best customers to brand advocates and reward them for doing so. This word-of-mouth marketing is incredibly effective and cost-efficient.  Setting up a referral program for success can be a daunting task, so we’ve broken down how to build a successful referral program for you below.

What is a referral program?

A referral program is an effective marketing strategy employed by brands. It incentivizes their existing customers to become brand advocates and recommend their products or services to others. It typically works by rewarding customers with incentives, such as discounts, cash rewards, or exclusive perks, when they successfully refer someone who makes a purchase or engages with the brand. This strategy benefits both the brand and customers in several ways. For brands, referral programs can generate new leads and customers through word-of-mouth marketing. This often results in higher conversion rates and increased brand loyalty. Additionally, the cost per acquisition tends to be lower compared to traditional advertising methods.

Customers, on the other hand, benefit from referral programs by receiving rewards for sharing their positive experiences with friends. In addition to gaining access to special discounts or exclusive offers. Overall, referral programs create a win-win situation by leveraging customer satisfaction and advocacy to drive growth for the brand while providing tangible benefits to customers. A great example of simplicity and effectiveness is Passion Footwear. You can gift your friends 25% off their first order of $100 or more. In turn, you get $25 in points added to your account for each referral that makes a purchase. It’s simple, clear, and effective.

How to build a successful referral program?

Building and launching a referral program can feel overwhelming. However, it’s important not to overcomplicate it. Start simple and make adjustments to the program as needed.

Clear Incentives

Clear incentives are crucial to motivate your existing customers or clients to refer others. Offer rewards such as discounts, exclusive access, or even monetary incentives like cash or store credits. If you want to add various levels to your program, you can opt for the points option. This is where customers collect points from referrals that accumulate into different gifts or discounts. Finally, it’s important to make sure the incentives are appealing enough to encourage active and continued participation to help increase customer lifetime value. 

Simplicity and Accessibility

Simplicity is key. If the program is too complicated, customers won’t participate. Therefore, it’s key to keep the referral process simple and user-friendly. Be sure to provide clear instructions on how to refer others and make it easy for participants to share referral links or information. Certain tools and programs even provide the customer with their own portal with their own customizable links, and codes and can track their progress. To increase accessibility, utilize multiple channels, such as email, social media, or personalized referral codes, to ensure convenience for your referrers.

Personalization and Targeting

Customer personalization is highly effective. It crafts a relevant experience that resonates with individuals, enhances engagement, builds trust, and increases the likelihood of conversion. By applying this personalization to your referral program, you can tailor the experience to align with the preferences and interests of your existing customers. Consider their demographics, purchasing behavior, and communication preferences. For example, a customer may be more incentivized by a free gift if it was an item that enhanced their previous purchase. By personalizing the program, customers feel listened to and valued which increases the chances of successful referrals and enhances customer engagement and loyalty. 

Track and Reward

If you’re not tracking progress, then you can’t make data-driven decisions to grow and improve. Implement a robust tracking system to monitor and record referrals accurately. This helps ensure transparency and fairness in rewarding referrers for their efforts. Track key metrics such as referred sales, sign-ups, or conversions, and provide timely rewards to referrers once the desired actions are completed. This will allow you to see which incentives work best, where the benchmarks need to be set, and which referrers are making the most conversions.

Promote and Highlight

Finally, you need to get the word out. To generate awareness and encourage participation, utilize social media, email marketing, website banners, and other advertising platforms to reach out to your customer base. To get started, one example is you can send invitational emails to your best customers to join. Not only are your repeat customers more likely to join, but it will also help them feel valued to have exclusive access to the program first. Additionally, once the program is launched, showcase success stories and testimonials from satisfied referrers. This highlights the benefits and credibility of the program. Remember, building a successful referral program requires ongoing evaluation and optimization. Continuously analyze the program’s performance, gather feedback from participants, and make necessary adjustments to maximize effectiveness.

With Amazon taking the top spot for the most popular online marketplace with its one-stop-shop approach, it has become increasingly difficult for eCommerce stores to retain customers and keep them shopping on their site. However, it’s important to note that selling with Amazon is a great way to increase reach, discoverability, and social proof. To help brands save on fees and keep customers purchasing directly through them, we’ve summarised 5 strategies to reduce customer attrition to other marketplaces.

Why do customers choose Amazon and how can brands implement these strategies?

Wide product selections, competitive pricing, convenience, prime membership, trust, and reliability are just a few of the many reasons why consumers choose Amazon. So how can brands take a leaf out of Amazon’s successful book? We delved into customer surveys and shortlisted 5 simple strategies from Amazon that brands can implement to reduce customer attrition to Amazon, eBay, or any other platforms. 

Shipping

Amazon excels with its selection of shipping options providing convenience, speed, and reliability to consumers. Amazon’s extensive logistics network allows for fast and efficient delivery, including free two-day shipping for Prime members. The reliability and consistency of these shipping services reduce uncertainty and help to provide a seamless shopping experience to the customer. The combination of fast, reliable, and customer-centric shipping options makes Amazon a preferred choice for many shoppers seeking timely delivery of their purchases.

Brands can follow in Amazon’s footsteps by enhancing their shipping options and offering multiple shipping choices, including a variety of carriers and delivery speeds. It’s important to add that Amazon has an expansive network of warehouses and fulfillment facilities. This network is what gives them the edge in their shipping and fulfillment. However, by exploring fast and reliable shipping options and showing real-time delivery times, customers feel more confident in knowing exactly when they can expect their order. In addition, streamlining order processing, providing transparent shipping policies, and implementing free shipping thresholds drastically improve the customer experience and increase average order value. Additionally, brands should prioritize efficient handling and fulfillment. This ensures products arrive in excellent condition, and utilize shipping protection to ensure a seamless service on every order.

Learn more about how shipping protection can enhance your brand’s post-purchase experience.

Variety

Also known as the one-stop shop, Amazon stocks a vast selection of products across numerous categories. This wide variety allows customers to find niche or hard-to-find products easily and conveniently. The breadth and depth of choices available on Amazon make it a preferred choice for customers seeking a wide range of products. This broad range ensures they can find exactly what they want in a single online marketplace. Within this variety, Amazon does a great job of upselling and cross-selling these products with the “frequently bought together” and “bundle with” options below, making it quicker and simpler for customers to get everything they need in one click. 

Brands can better utilize cross-selling and upselling while ensuring they sell necessary items to complement and complete orders. For example, an eCommerce store selling jewelry may also want to sell products to clean the jewelry, jewelry boxes, and gift boxes. This helps the store to become the one-stop shop within its niche, increase average order value and reduce customer attrition to other marketplaces.

Reviews

Another element setting Amazon ahead of the rest is its vast number of reviews. This allows customers to share their experiences and opinions, offering valuable insights for potential buyers. In addition, due to the verification processes, Amazon has in place, customers find these reviews and ratings trustworthy and honest. This rating system and the ability to ask questions or engage with reviewers contribute to the helpfulness of Amazon’s reviews. This makes Amazon’s reviews a go-to resource for customers seeking feedback and recommendations before making a purchase.

Reviews provide social proof, helping to build trust and credibility for the brand and its products which are crucial for eCommerce stores. Positive reviews can sway potential customers and increase conversion rates. Additionally they also offer valuable feedback and insights into customer experiences. This enables brands to identify improvements and address any areas of concern. By showcasing these reviews, brands also demonstrate transparency and authenticity, helping to build trust and loyalty.

Clear Return Policies

Amazon returns are simple, straightforward, and convenient adding yet another gold star to their customer experience. Amazon provides a hassle-free and transparent return process. This allows customers to return items easily with clear instructions for packaging and shipping. This includes features like prepaid return labels and free return shipping in many cases, making the process more convenient and cost-effective for customers. Prompt refunds and responsive customer service also contribute to a positive experience. This helps to instill confidence in customers and ultimately enhancing overall shopping satisfaction.

For brands, it’s essential to have clear and simple returns policies displayed on the site to reassure customers that their purchase is risk-free, helping to build trust in the brand. Secondly, easy returns contribute to customer loyalty and repeat business. When customers have a hassle-free experience with returns, they are more likely to become loyal advocates for the brand and make future purchases. Finally, clear and easy returns help minimize negative reviews, reduce customer complaints, and mitigate potential damage to the brand’s reputation.

Offers and Membership

With over 200 million Amazon Prime members in 2023, this membership offers a multitude of benefits, including free two-day shipping, access to streaming services, exclusive deals, and early access to sales. This incentivizes customers to join and renew their Prime membership, creating a loyal customer base. Second, Amazon’s Lightning Deals and Daily Deals offer time-limited discounts on popular products. This creates a sense of urgency and encouraging impulse purchases. Third, personalized recommendations and targeted promotions based on customer browsing and purchase history help to showcase relevant products. If that’s not enough, Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program provides discounts and convenient recurring deliveries, further encouraging customer loyalty. Overall, these special offers play a crucial role in enticing customers and fostering a returning customer base by providing value, convenience, and a sense of exclusivity.

Brands can learn from Amazon’s approach and effectively use special offers and memberships to entice and retain customers. Firstly, creating a loyalty program or membership with exclusive benefits and rewards can incentivize customers to stay engaged and return for future purchases. Offering free shipping, early access to sales, exclusive discounts, or personalized recommendations can enhance the value proposition for customers and help them to feel valued. Additionally, time-limited special offers, such as flash sales or limited-time discounts, can create a sense of urgency and drive immediate purchases. Brands can leverage customer data and preferences to personalize offers and promotions, tailoring them to specific customer segments.

To reduce customer attrition to other marketplaces, it’s key for brands to adopt effective strategies from the industry leaders. These strategies include improving shipping options, offering membership benefits, leveraging customer reviews, providing special offers, and simplifying return options. By implementing these strategies, brands can foster stronger relationships with customers, increase loyalty, improve the customer experience, and reduce the likelihood of customers migrating to other marketplaces.

Book a demo with Corso today and learn how Green Shipping Protection can support your brand.

In the realm of online shopping, the convenience and luxury of having packages delivered directly to our doorsteps have become the norm. However, with the increase in online shopping and shipped packages, the number of lost, damaged, and stolen packages has also increased. A staggering 49 million Americans had at least one package stolen from their porch in 2022. This reflects more than $2.4 billion in stolen goods. The increase in “porch pirates” poses a significant challenge for both merchants and customers alike. Not to mention, the increase in damaged and lost packages. In this article, we explore the question of whether shipping protection is worth the investment in today’s eCommerce landscape.

What is shipping protection?

Shipping protection is a service or insurance offered by eCommerce brands that covers the loss, theft, or damage of packages during transit. This added protection provides financial compensation or reimbursement to merchants or customers in case their packages are lost, stolen, or arrive damaged. The protection aims to offer peace of mind and financial security by alleviating the risks associated with shipping goods. Some brands include this protection in their pricing, whereas others have it as an optional extra at the checkout. This added layer of protection can significantly impact brands from increased profitability to a rise in customer loyalty, which we’ll delve further into below.

Learn more about Corso Green Shipping Protection and how it can help your brand get ahead.

Benefits of shipping protection for brands and customers

Increases Revenue

Shipping protection plays a crucial role in saving brands money and increasing revenue. It allows brands to recoup the cost of lost or damaged items and associated shipping expenses. This means that brands don’t have to bear the burden of replacing the lost products out of their own pocket. By transferring financial responsibility to the protection service, brands can better manage their budgets, minimize losses, and maintain a higher customer satisfaction rate. Ultimately, the investment in shipping protection can prove to be a cost-effective strategy for brands, safeguarding their bottom line and preserving their reputation in the market.

Time Efficient

When a package is lost, stolen, or damaged, the process of resolving the issue and compensating the customer can be incredibly time-consuming. However, with protection in place, brands can streamline this process by relying on the protection provided to handle the necessary steps. This includes filing claims and facilitating reimbursements or replacements. This allows brands to focus their time and energy on other important aspects of their business, such as customer service, marketing, and product development. By entrusting the responsibility of shipping protection to a specialized provider, brands can efficiently resolve package-related issues and focus on moving the needle on their business.

Enhances The Post-Purchase Experience

90% of consumers state that the post-purchase experience is just as important as the product. This doesn’t leave much room for error. Shipping protection plays a key role in the post-purchase experience. It allows customers to shop in confidence knowing that their packages are fully protected. In the event of a lost, stolen, or damaged package, shipping protection ensures that customers are quickly issued a replacement, minimizing inconvenience and frustration. This effective and quick handling can differentiate between a non-returning customer and a loyal long-term shopper. By offering this protection, brands demonstrate their commitment to customers and cultivate a loyal customer base. Customers are more likely to continue shopping with brands that prioritize their satisfaction and provide peace of mind with shipping protection.

How is Corso Green Shipping Protection helping brands just like yours? Take a look at some of our case studies.

Is shipping protection worth it?

Is shipping protection worth it? In our opinion, shipping protection is undeniably worth it due to its numerous benefits. Firstly, it provides financial security by covering the cost of lost, stolen, or damaged packages, ensuring that brands don’t bear the financial burden. This helps to protect their bottom line and maintain profitability. Secondly, it saves brands valuable time by not having to handle the claims process and resolution of package issues. This allows them to focus on core business activities. Additionally, it enhances the post-purchase experience for customers, leading to increased loyalty and trust. By investing in shipping protection, brands demonstrate their commitment to customer satisfaction and safeguard their reputation.

Ultimately, the cost of shipping protection is outweighed by the peace of mind it provides the financial savings and the positive impact on brand perception and customer loyalty.

Want to learn more about how Corso can help your business? Book a demo with us today.

While eCommerce stores remain safe from shoplifting, they are still unfortunately not safe from cyber theft or fraud. eCommerce fraud refers to exploiting vulnerabilities within online payment systems, websites, and digital platforms. Within this, it includes various fraudulent practices, such as identity theft, stolen credit card information, account takeovers, phishing scams, and fake merchandise schemes. As the popularity of eCommerce continues to grow, unfortunately, the rate of eCommerce fraud also continues to increase. In 2022, it was estimated that losses to online payment fraud were 41 billion U.S. dollars globally. For brands, combating and preventing eCommerce fraud has become the priority, which is why in this article we’re highlighting how to protect your brand from eCommerce fraud.

Most common types of eCommerce fraud

With eCommerce fraud showing no signs of slowing down, brands must take precautions as it poses significant risks to their reputation, finances, and customer trust. However, taking the correct precautions demonstrates a commitment to customers, builds trust, and ultimately helps to foster long-term customer relationships and business growth.

Firstly, it’s essential to identify the most common types of eCommerce fraud and how to protect your brand and customers from them.

Credit Card Fraud

This involves the unauthorized use of stolen or counterfeit credit card information to make fraudulent purchases online. Fraudsters obtain credit card details through various means, such as phishing, data breaches, or card skimming.

To protect customers’ information, brands can use secure payment gateways that encrypt sensitive customer data during transactions. Along with protecting customer information, it’s also important to verify their information. A common red flag for credit card fraud and triangulation fraud is when the shipping and billing addresses are different, meaning the owner of the card is not receiving the goods. To tackle this, brands can implement an address verification system (AVS), which verifies that the billing address provided matches the cardholder’s address.

For added security for customers, brands can also use card verification value (CVV), which requires customers to enter the three-number code on the back of the card. In many cases, identity thieves only steal the card numbers, not the actual card, adding another vital layer to your security. Finally, fraud detection tools analyze customers’ transaction patterns and behaviors to help identify any suspicious activity and are a key addition to any brand’s security toolkit.

Account Takeover (ATO)

In an account takeover, fraudsters gain unauthorized access to a customer’s online account by stealing their login credentials. Once in control of the account, they can make purchases, change account information, or conduct other fraudulent activities.

To prevent account takeovers, encourage customers to use strong and unique passwords along with multi-factor authentication (MFA), such as dual authentication via SMS, email, or an authenticator app. Additionally, brands can monitor login activities for unusual IP addresses or login patterns using fraud detection tools.

Identity Theft

Identity theft occurs when fraudsters obtain and misuse personal information, such as social security numbers, addresses, or bank account details, to make fraudulent purchases or open new accounts in the victim’s name.

Brands can protect their customers from identity theft by regularly updating software and systems to patch up any potential vulnerabilities. Also, implementing secure data storage and encryption protocols will protect all customer information. On top of that, it’s paramount to educate customers about online security practices such as using strong passwords, as mentioned above, and taking caution with their personal information.

Phishing Scams

Phishing involves fraudulent attempts to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information, such as login credentials, credit card numbers, or personal details. Fraudsters typically pose as the brand through deceptive emails, messages, or websites.

To avoid phishing scams, train all employees to identify and report any suspicious emails or communications that could be phishing attempts. In addition, brands can utilize email filtering systems to flag up and block any suspicious emails. Once again, it’s essential to educate and update customers about phishing techniques and how the brand will or will not contact them. For example, banks often communicate to their customers that they will never ask for sensitive customer information via email or SMS.

Chargeback Fraud

Chargeback fraud, also known as friendly fraud, occurs when a customer makes a legitimate purchase but later disputes the charge with their credit card company to obtain a refund while keeping the purchased item. This leads to financial losses for merchants.

To protect against chargeback fraud, ensure refund and return policies are clear and transparent while keeping records of customer transactions and communications. In addition, brands can implement fraud detection systems to analyze transaction history and identify any patterns of potential chargeback fraud. Finally, using a courier that utilizes proof of delivery is a valuable line of defense against chargeback fraud. By ensuring that both brand and customer have access to shipment tracking information, and require a signature for packages is an effective way to deter fraudsters.

In addition to all of the above, brands can partner with reputable payment processors, stay updated on the latest fraud trends, and collaborate with fraud prevention service providers to enhance protection against eCommerce fraud. Ultimately, a comprehensive approach that combines technology, education, and proactive monitoring can help brands safeguard themselves and their customers from eCommerce fraud.

Learn how Shipping Protection can help to protect your brand.