6 ways to streamline your shipping this holiday season

As the end of summer approaches, small businesses everywhere are gearing up for the holiday season, the most critical time of the year for e-commerce. According to eMarketer, U.S. holiday retail e-commerce sales are expected to hit a record-breaking $271.58 billion, a 9.5% increase from 2023. That means you’re in for a busy, fast-paced peak season, and preparation is essential. One area that can make or break your business’ success during this time? Shipping.

Efficient shipping processes can help small business owners keep up with demand, deliver exceptional customer experiences, and ultimately drive growth. We’ll show you how to streamline your shipping operations using Shippo’s powerful features, so you can stay ahead of the competition and grow your business this holiday season.

Just follow along with shipping experts Dominique and Rodrigo in the following video or check out the blog below—we've included a link to the exact video clip that shows you how to use each highlighted Shippo feature.

1. Seamless store integrations for multi-platform sellers

If you’re selling on multiple platforms like Shopify, Etsy, or Amazon, it can be overwhelming to manage all your orders across different systems. Shippo connects with all your e-commerce platforms and centralizes your orders in one place, allowing you to manage them seamlessly.

• Automatic syncing: Orders from your stores are synced with Shippo at regular intervals, ensuring up-to-date information is available as you manage your shipments. This reduces the need for manual tracking updates and ensures orders are processed in a timely manner.

• Centralized tracking: Shippo automatically syncs tracking information back to your store, keeping your customers informed about their order status. This saves you time by eliminating the need to manually input tracking details into your platforms.

By integrating all your sales channels into one platform, you save time, reduce confusion, and get orders out the door faster, even during the peak season.

2. Expedite your shipping with automations and bulk order management

During the holiday rush, speed is key. Customers expect fast, reliable shipping, and failing to meet these expectations can result in lost sales or damaged customer relationships. Shippo helps you expedite your shipping by automating repetitive tasks and allowing you to manage multiple orders at once.

• Automations: Set rules that automatically apply certain actions to specific orders. For example, assign a particular service level based on an order's weight, or use package templates based on an order's item quantity. Automating these repetitive actions eliminates manual errors and saves time, letting you process more orders faster.

• Bulk order management: Shippo’s bulk editing and purchasing features allow you to make changes to multiple orders at once. Apply the same shipping service or package template to up to 100 orders in one click, then purchase and download labels in bulk to streamline your workflow.

These tools not only speed up your fulfillment process but also reduce the risk of errors, ensuring your customers receive their packages quickly and accurately.

3. Easily manage orders with filters and tags

As orders start to flood in, it can become difficult to manage your orders. Shippo’s filters and custom tags let you sort and manage your orders efficiently.

• Filters: Use filters to quickly sort your orders based on various criteria like domestic vs. international shipments, shipping date, or store. For example, you can prioritize international orders that may take longer to deliver and ensure they are processed first.

• Tags: If you need more specific customization, create custom tags to group orders. You can have a tag titled “high priority” that you can assign to certain orders, such as those with expedited shipping, for efficient batch processing.

These tools ensure you’re focusing on the right orders, helping you manage high volumes of shipments with ease and reducing delays.

4. Improve customer experience with branded tracking and easy returns

Shipping doesn’t stop when the package leaves your warehouse. Providing customers with a seamless post-purchase experience is crucial to building trust and loyalty, especially during the holiday season.

• Branded tracking: With Shippo’s Pro Plan, you can customize your tracking emails and pages with your logo, colors, and even product recommendations. This turns every interaction into an opportunity to reinforce your brand and drive repeat business. Plus, automated tracking updates keep your customers informed, reducing the “Where is my order?” inquiries that can overwhelm your support team.

• Hassle-free returns: Offering easy returns is a key differentiator in e-commerce, especially during the holidays when customers may need to return gifts. With Shippo, you can automatically generate return labels and even include pre-printed return labels in your packages. This makes the return process smooth for your customers and encourages them to shop with you again.

By elevating the customer experience through transparency and convenience, you build loyalty and increase the likelihood of repeat purchases.

5. Use shipping manifests to save time

Once your orders are ready to be shipped, manually scanning each package can be time-consuming. Shippo’s manifest feature allows you to create a single barcode that carriers can scan to process all your packages at once, significantly speeding up your shipment handoff.

• USPS manifests: Shippo’s manifest feature supports USPS labels and allows you to generate a manifest for all orders shipped on a particular day. This means faster acceptance from your carrier and less time spent at the post office during the busiest time of year.

6. Maximize efficiency with defaults and pre-sets

Shippo allows you to set defaults for frequently used shipping options like carrier preferences, package templates, and return labels. These defaults save you time by automatically applying your preferred settings to each order, ensuring consistency and reducing manual entry.

• Pre-set shipping details: Save time by setting up your preferred shipping carrier, service level, and international shipment details. This way, your default options are automatically applied to every order, helping you process orders faster.

Prepare now to reap the rewards this holiday season

The holiday season presents both a challenge and an opportunity for small businesses. With e-commerce sales expected to soar, optimizing your shipping operations is crucial to staying competitive and ensuring customer satisfaction. By leveraging Shippo’s powerful features—automation, bulk management, store integrations, filters, tags, and branded tracking—you can streamline your shipping, improve your customer experience, and set your business up for success during this busy time.

By preparing now, you’ll not only survive the holiday rush but thrive, growing your customer base and increasing sales well into the new year.

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