How to Use Fast Shipping to Attract Online Shoppers

We all know the power of fast shipping in getting shoppers through your checkout, but do you know the power of fast shipping in getting shoppers to your store in the first place? Your shipping options could be your most underrated and unused marketing tool, which is why we’re sharing some tips to market your delivery speeds.

Why fast shipping is your new marketing tool

Product photography, customer reviews, and low prices have traditionally been used in eCommerce marketing to attract customers and win sales. But with online marketplaces such as Amazon and Walmart are reducing their shipping times and increasing their customer numbers. If you’re not doing the same, then you’re missing a trick.

Fast shipping has fast become the new marketing tool for online sellers, especially those selling from Shopify. Fast delivery attracts attention, drives clicks, and gets results.

• Differentiate your brand from other online sellers
• Offer customers almost immediate gratification when buying online
• Reduce the risk of products arriving late
• Offer a superior level of service at no extra cost

How to use fast shipping to attract shoppers

To attract more customers to your online store, you need to use your delivery speed as online bait. You can do this by offering fast delivery, advertising your speed, and getting on fast shipping programs.

1. Offer 2-day delivery

It sounds simple, yet many online sellers claiming to offer fast shipping are actually offering substandard speeds – meeting, not exceeding the average expectation of 3-days. To bring shoppers to your store, you need to stand out from your competitors, and that means offering delivery speeds of 2-days or less.

To achieve this, you can choose between two fulfillment options: In-house or outsourced fulfillment.

In-house

In-house fulfillment involves you storing, picking, packing, and shipping items to customers yourself. This comes with the benefits of control, oversight, and minimal external spend. However, without the right tools or expertise, this can come at the expense of slow deliveries.

To increase the speed that you can ship using in-house fulfillment methods, you can:

• Increase your warehouse locations to move stock closer to customers
• Appoint extra warehouse staff during busy periods
• Redesign your warehouse layout to maximize speed and minimize idle time

Outsourced

Outsourced fulfillment involves you using an external eCommerce fulfillment partner to pick and ship orders directly to your customers. While this does involve shipping your products to their warehouses and paying for an end-to-end fulfillment service, it can result in quicker delivery times and guaranteed SLAs.

To make the most out of outsourcing your fulfillment, look for a partner who:

• Has multiple warehouse locations covering the whole of the US
• Offers flat-rate pricing to save you money on your shipping costs
• Guarantees delivery speeds of 2-days or less

2. Advertise your speeds

Offering fast shipping isn’t enough – you need to shout about it. When marketing your online store, it’s easy to stick to product descriptions, photographs, and reviews. But your customers should know they can get those products from you more quickly than if they ordered elsewhere.

Your delivery speeds should be prominent throughout your website and owned channels. Display banners and utilize your fast shipping promise in your cart abandonment emails.

You can also advertise your speeds on Google Ads, Facebook, and Instagram.

• Reference fast shipping in your ad copy
• Include fast shipping tags on your product photography.
• Share customer reviews that talk about how quickly they received their items.
• Incorporate “fast shipping” and “2-day delivery” into your long-tail keywords

3. Use fast shipping programs

You might not immediately think of online marketplaces as a way to drive visits to your own eCommerce store, but marketplaces like Amazon are now some of the top places for product inspiration. That means many customers may start and end their search there without ever coming across your Google or social media presence.

By getting your listings on marketplace fast shipping programs, you can increase brand awareness, boost discoverability, and demonstrate your ability to deliver items quickly, to later encourage repeat purchases through your website.

How to use speed to propel shoppers through purchase

Once you’ve won the visit, you still need to get the purchase. Fast shipping marketing should continue throughout the customer journey, right up until they’ve clicked the “buy” button. Achieve this by supplementing your delivery options page with fast shipping tags, countdowns, and even guarantees.

Fast shipping tags

Shopify sellers of any size can now display their own 2-day delivery tags through Deliverr, an outsourced fulfillment partner. With bright branding options available, these fast shipping banners highlight the benefit to customers, while increasing the perceived value of items to drive purchases.

Fast shipping countdowns

A great way to spark urgency and increase the need for faster shipping is by using a fast shipping countdown timer. This visually displays the time left for a customer to order to receive their item within 2-days, encouraging shoppers to buy now before they miss out.

Fast shipping guarantees

Money-back guarantees appeal to the human need to avoid risk and help to drive product decisions. Delivery guarantees can work in the same way.

If you fulfill Shopify orders through Deliverr’s 2-day delivery program, you can offer your buyers a $5 credit for late deliveries, financed by Deliverr.

Fast shipping isn’t just about getting items to your customers more quickly. It can significantly boost your marketing efforts to increase website visits, conversions, and repeat purchases.