Benefits of Using Live Pricing for Your Online Store
Website World has several couriers and shipping providers whom we have integrations with who offer live pricing including ParcelPort, StarShipIT and GoSweetSpot. Also known as live rates, live pricing lets your customers know the exact price for shipping their specific order based upon your postcode and your customer's postcode.
Live pricing is a brilliant tool for eCommerce businesses, and there are multiple benefits to be had. But on the flip side, there are also possible disadvantages depending on your view of things. We're going to discuss both sides of the coin to help you decide which is the best freight option for your business. You'll also find our article Courier Options for Your Small Business a great resource to use too.
Pros & Cons of Using Live Pricing
Live pricing gives your customers the most accurate price for the courier fee they will pay to receive their order from your store. By providing them with accurate shipping information, you speed up their buying decision and reduce the number of inquiries you receive regarding shipping costs. If you offer multiple shipping options, this also helps them to decide which one they want to use.
One downside is that some customers find living pricing confusing, where as having a simple pricing structure is more understandable for them. For example, a flat nationwide postage option of $5 with free shipping for orders over $100 encourages bigger sales. This can also have a downside for the eCommerce store, as a flat rate subsidies rural customers and in some cases, you may be out of pocket for the rural postage costs.
But there's a plus side of offering a nationwide flat fee, and that is opens up your market to include rural customers. They usually pay additional shipping costs because of their delivery address, but a flat fee makes it likely they'll support your store over another for cheaper shipping fees.
Courier Options for Live Pricing
When it comes to couriers, there are multiple options, as listed in our article Courier Options for Your Small Business. Some offer a nationwide flat rate, others a rate within and between islands. Some charge a rural delivery fee and others don't. Then there's those which offer a live pricing option.
Two NZ based companies which offer live rates and integrate with our CMS are ParcelPort and GoSweetSpot. These courier aggregator integrations will use the specifications you have entered into the CMS regarding product characteristics such as weight and measurements, to find the best suited courier option. This lets them offer a specific shipping price for individual orders, giving the customer and the eCommerce store certainty on shipping costs.
Couriers are just one of the integrations we have within our CMS. Other popular APIs and integrations include Xero, Unleashed, Tidy Stock and MYOB. They along with many other carefully designed features make choosing Website World for your online store an easy decision. Start your free trial today or learn more about how we can move your website over to our platform.
Posted: Wednesday 3 February 2021
