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Shipping is essential to an online business’s success, but it has to be affordable for it to be workable. Your eCommerce business requires the correct balance of timely deliveries to your customers without exceeding your budget.
Before committing to economy shipping, consider these five factors:
- Economy shipping is the most affordable way to transport a package, as long as the delivery is not time-sensitive.
- Domestic economy shipping takes roughly the same time as standard shipping.
- You can track economy shipments.
- Online businesses that ship domestically should consider economy shipping to lower costs.
- Economy ground shipping is offered within the United States by UPS, FedEx and USPS.
With three shipping options in the United States (Expedited, Standard and Economy), you may wonder several things. Which one should you choose? What is economy shipping? Is economy shipping a realistic option for an online business? There are several factors to know about the feasibility of economy shipping and whether it’s a reasonable option for your eCommerce businesses.
What Is Economy Shipping?
Economy shipping is the most affordable way to transport a package. While it takes longer than standard or expedited shipping to reach its destination, economy shipping provides a reliable and inexpensive method of transporting your products.
Biodegradable Styrofoam Saves the Planet and Saves You Money!Economy shipping is available with most couriers, and it’s an excellent way to keep your costs down if your delivery is not time-sensitive. Economy shipping can be a great option to transport fragile, bulky goods domestically. To prevent fragile products from breaking in transit, choose environmentally friendly packing options like biodegradable styrofoam.
Efficiency of Economy Shipping
Economy shipping times vary depending on whether you’re mailing a package domestically or internationally. It also varies according to the courier you are using, whether UPS, FedEx or USPS. Within the United States, it usually takes between 1-5 business days for a package to reach its destination via economy shipping. If you’re mailing something internationally, it will take somewhere between 2-12 business days to arrive.
Besides the shipping method, other factors can affect delivery speed, as explored through research for economy shipping of oceangoing vessels based on the FOA-SVR. This is a model that considers natural external factors that influence international shipping for an ocean vessel. You should consider potential delays in delivery with ocean vs. air travel when selecting your international shipping option.
A Double Wall Corrugated Box Is Super Durable and Safe
Tracking Economy Shipments
Most couriers allow you to track your economy shipments, just not in as much detail as you can with expedited or standard shipping options. USPS allows tracking of lightweight packages to select countries only. The tracking with economy shipping is often limited to being notified when the package is collected, sorted and delivered, rather than a detailed update on its whereabouts.
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Who Should Consider Economy Shipping?
Domestic economy shipping using USPS can be a great way to save money and still deliver on time for small businesses. USPS shipping is convenient for mailing packages under 70 lbs. within the United States and Canada.
Shipping methods vary between companies using a 3PL vs. 4PL business model. Small businesses with a 3PL business model will still have some control over their supply chain, whereas 4PL directs all aspects of this chain. They should also consider economy shipping because they will benefit from the reduced cost.
Economy vs. Standard Shipping
When you’re shipping domestically, there isn’t a vast difference between economy and standard shipping. Both options can deliver your parcel in 3-5 business days and offer delivery tracking options. For international shipments, economy delivery is slower than standard but may be worth the wait for the money you’ll save.
Economy vs. Expedited Shipping
Expedited shipping, also sometimes called Express, is the fastest way of getting your package delivered. There are plenty of scenarios when expedited shipping makes more sense than economy. From a business perspective, any perishable goods being shipped need to reach their destination as quickly as possible. This is also true during the holiday rush when companies promise customers delivery before Christmas.
Because the cost of expedited shipping is so high, if you’re not up against a delivery deadline, economy shipping is the more reasonable choice.
What Are the Benefits of Economy Shipping?
The benefits of economy shipping often outweigh the cons. Economy shipping is:
- Inexpensive
- Often just as quick as standard when shipping domestically
- An affordable way to ship bulky or fragile items over land
- Ideal for shipping in bulk
- Can be tracked at a basic level
For the ultra-low cost, you get your money’s worth by choosing economy shipping, especially if you’re only shipping within the U.S. or using economy services.
Which Carriers Provide Economy Shipping?
Ground shipping is ideal for large, heavy packages or fragile items that should ideally be packaged in a double wall corrugated box. You can select an economy shipping option from:
- UPS Ground
- FedEx Ground
- USPS Priority Domestic
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Is Economy Shipping the Right Choice for Your Business?
Each business owner must determine if economy shipping is right for their business needs. Longer wait times for deliveries may outweigh the cheaper cost of economy shipping for business owners. If you ship large packages domestically, your business can benefit immensely from the affordable rates of economy ground shipping within the U.S. and Canada.
However, eCommerce business owners with time-sensitive delivery deadlines may want to think twice before choosing economy shipping, especially for international deliveries because of the delivery timeline.
