Shipping rates offered to complete a sale (i.e. fulfill) a customer order are a critical part of your business operations, and the Hathi Seller Portal allows you to create multiple shipping rate policies tailored to your needs. Whether you're offering free shipping or charging based on order value, this guide will help you set up and manage your shipping rates effectively.
Shipping rates can significantly influence customer purchase decisions. Offering competitive shipping options or free shipping can boost sales, while clearly defined shipping policies help set customer expectations and avoid cart abandonment.
Free shipping? Dynamic pricing? Fixed rates? There are many ways to calculate shipping costs, but which way is best for your business? At Hathi we believe the best way to calculate shipping costs is with keeping customers in mind. How much are your customers willing to pay? And what will keep them coming back for more?
Most customers don’t like to pay for shipping, and an unexpected shipping cost is the number one reason for customers to abandon their shopping cart. Considering this we designed our shipping philosophy based on strategic Shipping Policies that favor Flat rate shipping, to eliminate surprises to customers and clearly state shipping costs as early as possible.
Most customers don’t like to pay for shipping, and an unexpected shipping cost is the number one reason for customers to abandon their shopping cart. Considering this we designed our shipping philosophy based on Flat rate shipping to eliminate surprises to customers and clearly state shipping costs as early as possible. Below are some important factors to be aware of before designing your store's shipping preferences.
If you can control your profit margin, then build your shipping costs into your pricing structure and offer free shipping for all products.
We understand that this is not always possible, in such situations offer free shipping over a certain order value, such as $40. We refer to this value as "Free Shipping Threshold". This encourages customers to add few more products from your store or group their purchases. A good way to set a free shipping threshold, is to set it a bit higher than your average order value.
For example, if your average order value is $30, set the free shipping threshold at $40. This will help you increase your average order value and offset the margin loss.
Now that we have covered why shipping policies are important, you are ready to manage your store policies. You can create, edit, or manage shipping policies in the Hathi Seller Portal App. Navigate Shipping Policy: