Your customers are the backbone of your business. Ask any successful entrepreneur and they’ll agree that your number one priority should be to nurture satisfaction with your shoppers. Show them some love and run a customer appreciation campaign. 

What is customer appreciation? 

A win-win for your shoppers and your brand, a customer appreciation campaign or a shopper appreciation campaign is a promotion that a company runs to celebrate its customers. It can include discounts, small gifts or freebies, contests, and more. The point is to delight your customers. 

You can run a shopper appreciation campaign annually, quarterly, monthly -- there are no set rules. But, one constant with all successful shopper appreciation promotions is that they show customers recognition and gratitude for shopping with the brand beyond a simple ‘thank you.’ 

A promotion like this will help you retain shoppers and increase eCommerce conversions. 

Customer appreciation ideas to show gratitude and retain loyal customers

Let’s explore some ideas to kick off your next customer appreciation campaign.

1. Run a flash sale
2. Feature customers in social media posts
3. Make it an annual event
4. Share brand promotions with your personal network
5. Send handwritten notes
6. Send free swag
7. Follow up with your brand advocates
8. Donate to a cause 
9. Send a gift card
10. Reward customers with a loyalty program
11. Offer a price cut

1) Run a flash sale

This idea goes against what I mentioned earlier about letting shoppers know what you’re planning in advance (to generate hype). But, if you have limited resources and you think it’s time to show customers you truly care, a flash sale is a viable option. 

Above is an example from Hand-Picked, an online jewelry and gift retailer. For just four hours, everything in their store was on sale at a 40% discount. They announced the sale on social media for their followers, which created an atmosphere of exclusivity and urgency -- very appealing.

2) Feature your shoppers on social media posts

People love it when you love them. Show your customers appreciation by sharing their images on social media to your followers. Attention like this makes shoppers feel like they do when their new friend shares a photo of them -- like they’re someone to be proud of. 

Rianna Phillips is an accessories seller with a flair for glam. In the above example, they share a photo of their customer, @imb_amande, “looking effortlessly chic.” In this case, they’ve placed their product (a pretty, pink phone case) in a real-life glamorous-looking scenario while showing their gratitude for the purchase; this tactic appeals to the customer(s) you promote and onlookers who might want to try the product.     

3) Make it an annual event

One way to encourage customer loyalty is to make sure your shoppers have something to look forward to. Plan your promotions in advance and make sure your shoppers know that they can consistently expect exciting deals from your brand. 

[Image source: Plum Deluxe]

Above, you see a landing page that Plum Deluxe keeps up on their website all year long. A recent tweet with a product photo let their followers know that time was almost up to get in on the discounts for what has been their full month of gratitude. Follow their lead and keep your shoppers interested in you long-term. 

4) Share brand promotions with your personal network

Sometimes it’s beneficial to share your professional promotions with your personal connections. When you say thank you to your shoppers is one of the better times to do so. You don’t want to pitch your products and services to your friends and family because that’s annoying. But, there are ways to make brand shares tasteful. 

Amethyst Babe is an online boutique body product retailer. Behind the scenes, @theillestpisces runs the show. With her personal followers, she retweets her branded promotional tweet. Now, everyone knows, if they order, they will receive a surprise gift with their purchase. Which of your store’s posts should you be sharing with your personal network? 

5) Send handwritten notes

Thank you notes are a classic way of letting someone know you appreciate them. You send them to your friends and family. Why not send them to your customers? Consumers absolutely love handwritten cards because they give the shopping experience a tremendously personal touch. 

Casper is a mattress company that sends handwritten thank you notes with their deliveries. They keep them simple and welcome customers to their “family.” You can take this idea and run with it for nearly any product offering. If you couldn’t possibly write enough notes yourself, look into a printing alternative. 

6) Send free swag

Branded merch is a win for both parties because your shoppers will appreciate the gesture. And, if they choose to sport your gift, they’ll be marketing your company to their friends and family in the real world. It’s like a thank you note that serves as a commercial for your brand. 

Above, you see some free Beatles pins that are going into some packages as surprise gifts for Pizzawednesday’s weekend Etsy orders. What better way to get people excited about your products than send them a little extra? What unique swag could you use to delight your shoppers? 

7) Follow up with your brand advocates

When your customers check in with you on social media or they tag you in their posts, make sure to follow up. Engaging with advocates, both big and small, gives you an opportunity to make someone happy. Plus, it’s just good PR. Don’t just aim for influencers, either.

Every brand mention is a chance for you to deliver an exceptional experience to your customers. Love Always Claire understands the value in simply acknowledging shoppers when they have something nice to say. You never know what good can happen for your business if you ignore your patrons. 

8) Donate to a cause 

On behalf of your most loyal customers and brand advocates, consider making a donation to a cause. This is one of the best forms of PR you can get. You’ll have a fanatic on your team who wants to share what you’ve done with the rest of the world, and you’ll make people feel great. 

On behalf of the Burst Southeast Team, Burst Oral Care donated $2,500 to the Wounded Warrior Project, for example. During your promotion, you can choose a charity to donate to or run a contest wherein the winner chooses which organization gets your donation. Just make it fun and relevant. Because of its nature, this tactic is always a success. 

9) Send a gift card

Another classic way to express your gratitude, a gift card can be an excellent promotional tactic. Depending on your budget, you can send a gift card for your online store or send your shoppers out to lunch or for a coffee. For the most impact, you’re best to execute this tactic as a surprise. 

For example, when a customer couldn’t find what they were looking for in their local store, Argos sent them a gift voucher to use online. In this case, they were making up for a mistake, but you don’t have to mess things up before you deliver a delightful experience. Try taking a look at your ten top-purchasing customers from the past year and send them a gift card. 

10) Reward customers with a loyalty program

A loyalty and rewards program is one of the best ways for an online store to create customer retention. And, it’s an excellent way to show your appreciation for the purchases made. in the eyes of your customers, make sure your rewards are worth talking about. If you do, they will share their story with the world. 

Above, Luisaviaroma created a hit with a “private sale” for special shoppers. They sent a huge discount to a select few on their luxury fashion, making at least one customer feel like the star of the show.  And, that is how a brand effectively shows their appreciation. 

11) Offer a price cut 

Sometimes a simple discount can get people excited and chatting. And, it doesn’t necessarily have to be 75% off to cause a stir. Find out how much you can afford to shave off your prices and start handing out savings to your loyal shoppers. It’s a simple offer and it works. 

Marshall Artist, modern tailoring online, offered a 15% discount for new shoppers and it got people talking. When customers were able to connect over their purchases, it created a sense of community in the Tweetosphere. And, people were connecting over the business in a positive light. You can mimic this tactic by offering percentage and dollar amounts off your prices for specific actions. 

Customer appreciation campaign best practices

Your customer base is inspired to shop when they feel like they’re getting something of value. To most consumers, there’s nothing more valuable than feeling appreciated. Follow these best practices when creating a campaign to acknowledge your gratitude. 

1) Start promoting in advance

Before your campaign commences, it is crucial to give potential shoppers a sneak peek of what’s to come. You need people to know that something big is about to happen so they can get ready to engage. Anticipation is at the heart of a successful campaign. 

So, run a pre-launch email series and let social media followers know what’s happening. You can also add a countdown bar to the top of your website or online store; try using it as a lead-generation tool by collecting email addresses of shoppers who want a notification when your promotion officially starts.

By letting people know what’s up in advance, you ensure more traffic to your store on the day of launch. 

2) Make it all about your customers, not your brand

If you want shoppers to promote you, you need to promote your shoppers. Don’t focus too much on your product or service. Instead, feature customers as the VIP of your party. You’re not exactly saying, ‘happy birthday,’ but you want customers to feel like you are -- you’re celebrating and it should be fun. I’ll bet you can come up with something just as clever while staying relevant to your products and services. Then, bring it to social media. 

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are great platforms to get shoppers engaged with your brand. So, call your customers to action on these social channels and thank them for joining in. 

3) Make every shopper feel important

To your customers, the engagement they have with your brand is one-on-one. So, keep this in mind when you connect with people. Don’t talk to shoppers as if you’re speaking to a crowd. Especially since your interactions primarily take place online, remember to keep the experience hyper-personalized. 

Encourage your customer support team to enthusiastically address each customer who engages with you on social media, email, live chat, and by phone. Then, try to enhance the experience by letting everyone know about the promotion you’re currently running.

4) Carry the vibes into the future

The fun shouldn’t stop here. In fact, you should use your promotion as a springboard for creating an exceptional brand experience all year long. Shoppers appreciate consistency. So, show them that you can consistently make them feel like a vital part of your business every single day. 

[Image Source: Sunski]

Use your customer appreciation campaign as an opportunity to launch a new, ongoing campaign. Here are some of the best types of long-term campaigns to start during a shopper appreciation week or day promotion: 

• User-Generated Content (UGC) Campaign -  Start a hashtag promotion on Instagram, ask for product reviews, or ask your shoppers to submit certain photos of your products for a contest. Incentivize customer action with a discount or gift. Then, keep it going to continue generating interest in your brand each day of the year. 
• Referral Program - It might be time to start asking for referrals. If so, you can use customer appreciation week as a starting point. Maybe you could offer additional bonuses during launch, but make sure your satisfied shoppers want to continue telling other people about your products. 
• Loyalty or Rewards Program - A loyalty program can go hand-in-hand with your new referral program. And, it doesn’t have to end with your shopper appreciation day or week. 
• Discount - Now might be the time to start giving shoppers a new shipping discount on sales over a certain price. Or, maybe you want to start offering markdowns on bulk orders in certain categories. The possibilities are endless.

Ultimately, you want to use your campaign to kickstart a new company lifestyle, not just a few sales. If you’re interested in making the processes easier on yourself, check out some of our favorite Shopify apps, which include platforms for ongoing loyalty, rewards, and other campaigns. 

5 Customer appreciation scripts to inspire your support team

Right now, customer appreciation scripts might be what your team needs to help set the mood when connecting with customers. During your campaign, share these scripts with your team to get them ready for the big push. They can use them as general guidelines to follow when communicating with shoppers. 

Script #1. Simple greeting

Hello there, I’m happy to help with whatever it is you need. Before we get started, did you know that we’re celebrating shopper appreciation week? To say thank you for your patronage, I’d like to offer you some exclusive perks. Some of them are super cool. Are you interested in hearing more? 

Script #2. Pitch a newsletter signup

Hi! I see that you haven’t signed up for our newsletter yet [Make sure this is true.]. As a way to say thank you, we post regular articles that can help you understand how to better understand your [Insert Product or Product Category] and other relevant [Insert Main Blog Theme] tips and advice. 

Right now, we’re offering [Insert Gift or Discount Offering] to anyone who signs up with their email address. Would you like me to subscribe you to our newsletter and show you how to redeem your reward? 

Script #3. Propose a contest entry

Hey there, thank you for reaching out/ stopping in! As a way to give back to you and our other shoppers, we’re running a contest right now. All you have to do is [Insert Customer Action(s)], and you’ll have a chance to win [Insert Prize]. And, just for playing, you’ll get [Insert Gift or Discount Offering]. Would you like to play? 

Script #4. Solve a general problem

[After the problem is solved...] I’m so happy I could help you, today! I sincerely appreciate your patronage. Before I let you go, I want to say ‘thank you,’ and let you know about a promotion we’re running to show that we appreciate you for being a part of our family. 

Today/ This week only, we’re offering [Insert Gift or Discount Offering] to anyone who [Insert Customer Action(s)]. Would you like me to send you more information?   

Script #5. Solve a problem for an unhappy customer

[After the problem is solved...] Whew, I know that was frustrating for you. I want to say that I’m grateful for your patience while we sorted through that mess. Your business is important to us.

 As a thank you, I’d like to offer you [Insert Gift or Discount Offering]. If you’re interested, all you would need to do is [Insert Customer Action(s)]. Would you like to proceed? 

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The above scripts can be modified to suit your customer needs, brand voice, the skill level of your customer support team, and the nature of your promotion. The examples should be used as a starting point to get everyone’s wheels turning and the creative juices flowing. You might also like these customer service quotes to help keep your support agents motivated throughout the year. 

Final thoughts

When it comes to shopper appreciation, the bottom line is to make sure you find a way to show your gratitude to the people who matter most. You want to satisfy your customers and you wan to increase your sales. In the end, what matters most is the relationships you build. So, if you focus on that, you will certainly be successful. 

Remember to be authentic, transparent, and open in all of your ecommerce marketing campaigns. If you’re not, your brand will stick out like a sore thumb. There’s nothing people hate more in this day and age than a phony, especially when it comes to where they spend their money. What tactics have you used to show your appreciation for the people who visit your online store?

Your customer service is the lifeblood of your business. And, live chat is a central communication channel for your online shoppers. Live chat can make or break your business. When leveraged properly, Shopify live chat can have a tremendous positive impact on sales. You just need to make sure you’re not turning prospects away. 

This article covers a few points.

1. Why live chat is crucial for your online revenue
2. Shopify live chat support mistakes you need to avoid at all costs
3. Actionable advice to solve these common issues  

Now, learn why your growth depends on your live chat processes. 

Why is using live chat on your Shopify store important?

If you don’t yet have live chat or you haven’t experienced the potential of optimizing your communication processes on this channel, you may wonder what the big deal is. Yeah, your customers want to talk to you at all hours, but is it really that important? 

Let’s look at a few facts about live chat so you can think about it.   

• 38% of online consumers are more likely to make a purchase if a retailer offers live chat support (Crazy Egg). 
• Site visitors who engage with your live chat are worth 4.5X more than those who do not (ICMI). 
• Live chat has the highest satisfaction level of any other customer support communication channel at 92% (Inc). 

Now, here’s what might happen if you leave your shoppers dissatisfied. 

• It can take 12 satisfying customer experiences to make up for a single dissatisfying one (Invesp).
• 95% of customers tell others about their poor experiences with a brand and 87% share positive experiences (Customer Thermometer). 

Are you convinced? If so, it’s time to make sure you get it right. Avoid these live chat mistakes and ensure that you’re getting the most out of one of the most powerful communication channels for online stores. 

Avoid these live chat mistakes on your Shopify store

Now it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty. Here are the mistakes you need to avoid when implementing live chat on your Shopify store. And, below each problem is a simple and actionable fix. 

1. No automation  

When you don’t implement automation, you’re forced to have multiple support agents online at all times or miss the point of live chat altogether. Your customers prefer this communication channel because they want the convenience of self-service. And, without some level of automation, customers might as well send an email because it will take just as long to receive a response. 

The quick fix: Learn your chat platform’s macros or automation processes

Live chat platforms are designed to enhance the workload of your support team. So, naturally, the brand you work with will have a knowledge base with detailed instructions about platform use. Make sure your support agents learn how to implement macros or automations.

2. Too much automation

Before you get too excited and try to automate your entire live chat workflow, stop and think for a moment. It is possible to fully-automate your live chat communications. However, with automation, you can’t always get the answers right. Irrelevant responses to customer queries can trigger immediate dissatisfaction.

The quick fix: Refer to the Pareto principle

In marketing, sales, writing, and even customer service, the Pareto principle, better known as the 80/20 rule can come in handy. This principle states that 80% of the effects for many actions come from 20% of the effort. Spin this just a bit for an easy solution. 

Find out where most of your effort is being spent (maybe 20% of the customer support workload) and use live chat macros to answer the most common customer questions first. Then, the rest of your support agents’ work time to reply to the unique and personal queries (perhaps about 80% of the customer support workload).   

See Also: Love Your Melon Has Automated 25% of Shopify Support Tickets

3. Excessive wait times

While it may not always be possible, especially from the perspective of a brand, up to 79% of consumers want immediate responses and expect answers within 10 minutes. If you’re making your shoppers wait longer than this, you may be losing sales.

One of the biggest benefits of live chat for customer support is its speed .You need to find a solution to accelerate your responses.  

The quick fix: Enlist assistance from other departments

Much of the time, excessive wait times are due to the fact that customer support staff must reach out to external departments and wait for answers before replying to the customer. Try what Nomad did to decrease first-response time by 78% and implement an all-hands support strategy. 

Require each department to directly respond to a number of tickets every day. And, there’s no need to go overboard -- just a few tickets a day from sales, marketing, and/or product teams can have a dramatic positive impact on response and resolution times. 

4. Ineffective language use

Do your agents sound like robots? Are your chat communications overly-formal? If so, you run the risk of turning people away. Consumers appreciate AI, but if they can have better conversations with Siri or Alexa that they do your customer support team, your conversations could use some work. 

The quick fix: Parrot your customers 

Compile some data from your chat sessions and look for patterns. Do you see any recurring words or phrases in your customer communications? If so, add them to your macros and your agents’ vocabulary. When you speak the same language with shoppers, they’re more likely to trust you. 

5. Unskilled or untrained support agents

Customer service agents never get as much credit as they deserve. Without a small army of satisfaction soldiers, you will lose the eCommerce war. So, the work needs to be taken seriously. If you hire low-skilled agents who can’t answer your shoppers’ questions, you will end up with low-quality support operations. Eventually, this mistake can kill your business. 

The quick fix: hire and train well 

Unfortunately, for this problem, there isn’t a “quick” fix. However, if you put in significant energy in the beginning, you may be able to kick up your heels later. Onboard well. 

Fist of all, learn the core skills that your support agents need like active listening and product knowledge. Then, hire like you know what you’re doing. Make sure to ask the right interview questions. And, when onboarding, create stellar customer service training materials. The resources you invest when you bring on new agents will pay for themselves fast. 

6. Emoji overload

Once in a while, if you throw an emoji out there in a live chat conversation with a customer, it can be fun. Emojis can help adjust the mood and keep a message lighthearted. Forbes says that emojis can be worth 1,000 words. But, don’t go overboard. Too many smiley faces and penguins will come across annoying and unprofessional. 

The quick fix: Just stop 🛑 

If it seems like your agents may be on emoji overdrive, just ask them to stop. Remove the use of smileys and strong arms from your operations entirely. It’s better to have no emojis at all than to have too many. Now, if this hasn’t become a problem internally, then don’t worry about it. Skilled agents typically know what’s appropriate and what’s not. 

7. Extreme focus on quantity

In eCommerce and business in general, decision-makers spend end a lot of time looking at numbers. In customer service, you strive for the fastest first-response and resolution times. While this is best practice, don’t let quantity overshadow quality. Some teams become so focused on their numbers that they lose sight of their actual customer satisfaction. Don’t let this be your team. 

The quick fix: Audit your operations 

Instead of playing a numbers game and obsessing about the clock, focus on quality. Customer satisfaction should be the number one goal of every support team and every business, for that matter. Periodically, run an audit on your operations and make sure your satisfaction levels are balanced with your speed. 

8. No data collection

A few weeks ago, I called out to online store owners on Twitter to ask for their experience using live chat to increase sales. I wanted to level the playing field and reach beyond our internal data to find others who had the same experience. And, while each respondent knew that live chat had a positive impact on their Shopify sales, they couldn’t provide real numbers. Instead, they shared anecdotes and vague descriptions and stories. There are two key problems with no data collection for live chat. 

1. When you have no performance data and statistics, you can’t determine the exact areas where you need to improve your processes.
2. A lack of customer data leads to a decrease in customer satisfaction. 

90% of consumers value when an agent knows their account history and current activity within a company. 

The quick fix: Use a full-featured live chat plaform 

If your live chat platform is designed to collect data from your agents and your customers, you can get all of the information you need to collect helpful internal statistics.

Keep track of tickets created, replied, closed, messages, time to resolution. Sort your data by agent or event. Use real numbers from your internal processes to power your customer support strategy. 

With the right reporting system, you can inform your future decisions about hiring, automation, processes, and more. 

9. Missing optimal chat times

Do you know when your website traffic spends most of their time on your website? And, are you making certain that your agents are online during peak times? If not, you will naturally see low response and resolution times. Plus, the people who reach out when nobody is online may never return to your site. 

The quick fix: discover your peak times & make sure you’re staffed 

Use a tool like Google Analytics to generate hour of day and day of week reports. When you have determined the most active times for your website visitors, check to make sure you’re staffed during these times. And, if you see that there are active traffic times that you don’t have anyone available, make adjustments to your staff schedules. 

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10. Ignoring sales opportunities 

Customer support is an avenue for your team to keep shoppers happy. And, happy shoppers evolve into satisfied, long-term customers. But, you may be missing opportunities to upsell your website traffic on current promotions and increase sales even more.  

The quick fix: Share your current promotions with shoppers

When you’re running a promotion, contest, or sale, make sure your support agents are aware. At the beginning or end of every live chat conversation (you’ll have to test to see what works best for your audience), give customers a link to a page with the information or briefly tell them about the promotion. 

11. Disconnected processes

A major problem for many support agents that can kill satisfaction is processes that are disconnected. Your staff can be forced to open multiple tabs to keep a conversation going -- email, social media, live chat, web store. This can take up precious time and also give customers the feeling that your company doesn’t know who they are or what their status is. 

The quick fix: Make sure your live chat is integrated with Shopify and your other communication channels

Gorgias's live chat platform connects with your Shopify data so that you can streamline the resolution on orders, shipping, tracking, and return tickets. Furthermore, it integrates with your email, phone, and social media messaging platforms so that you have access to all customer data, no matter which channel they reach out on. 

Final thoughts

Now you know exactly what not to do and how to fix what you’re doing wrong with live chat on your Shopify store. Apply this advice today and watch your support team nurture more satisfaction with shoppers. If you need a Shopify full-featured live chat platform that provides the data you need to scale your customer support operations and the integrations that can streamline your operations, find out what we have to offer. 

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Transactional emails are usually sent when a customer has placed an order like shipping confirmation emails and order confirmation emails. But they could also include reminders for abandoned cart checkouts, lost password requests, or suggestions for future purchases.

A study by Experian found that transactional order emails average $0.75 per open compared to $0.13 for bulk mailings on orders. But how can simple notifications increase customer lifetime value? How can they drive repeat purchases?

Tips for upgrading transactional emails to boost sales

Try these three tips to use transactional emails to grow your ecommerce business.

1. Leverage product recommendations to upsell customers
2. Ask for reviews to build trust
3. Drive repeat purchases with discount codes

1) Leverage product recommendations to upsell customers

One way you can maximize the power of product recommendations is to add them in your transactional emails. How effective are product recommendations in maximizing your profits? Intelliverse found that 45% of consumers are more likely to shop on a site that offers personalized recommendations and  56% of online customers are more likely to return to a site that offers product recommendations.
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For example, Costco’s order confirmation email has product recommendations that are based on top categories. It’s nothing special, but it can drive repeat purchases.

Another tip is to send personalized product recommendations based on a consumer’s purchase history or behavior. This way, you’ll be upselling products that customers will likely be interested in. For example, Amazon’s order confirmation email includes recommendations based on a customer’s past purchase.

Adding personalized product recommendations in your transactional emails make a lot of sense because they have high open rates. In fact, transactional emails have open rates that are 3x to 4x higher than the regular marketing email. That’s because customers often check transactional emails to confirm the success of their transactions.

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2) Ask for reviews to build trust

Another type of transactional email you can use is the feedback email which is sent a few days or weeks after the customer has received or used the product. Why are product reviews important to your retail store? Reviews determine whether people will buy your product. Additionally, while writing reviews don’t directly lead to repeat purchases, they’re pretty effective at getting other customers to buy a product.

Numerous studies consistently found that star ratings and reviews have a big impact on sales. In fact, BrightLocal found that 44% prefer products with reviews within the past month and Reevo found that reviews can result in an 18% increase in sales.

And contrary to popular belief, negative reviews might do you some good. Capterra found that 52% of buyers trust a product more when they see a fewer negative reviews. After all, there’s no perfect product. You can ask for reviews by sending a simple feedback email like J. Crew:

Writing a review seems easy, but it does take some time and effort. That said, you should thank customers because any kind of feedback is useful for your Shopify store. Here’s an example of how J. Crew thanks their customers:

You don’t always have to ask for long reviews, sometimes a star rating might do.

For example, JCPenney asks for a star rating a few days after the customer has received the product. They also give customers the option to write a long review through clicking the “Write a Review” button.

They also incentive customers by giving them a chance to win $1000.

You can also provide other incentives like discounts and coupons in exchange for the review. After all, people are more motivated when they get something in return.

Related: Our guide to email marketing automation for ecommerce.

3) Drive repeat purchases with discount codes

Selling to your current customers is a lot easier and cheaper than converting a first-time customer. A study by Harvard Business Review found that acquiring new customers is about five to 25 times more expensive than selling to the ones you already have.

Of course, old customers are more likely to buy your product because they have experiences with your product or service. If they like what they purchased, there’s a good chance they’ll buy from your store again.

In contrast, first-time customers are a lot harder to convince. You need to get them through the marketing funnel and send ads, emails and other marketing content to convince them to buy from your store.

That said—how do you increase repeat purchases in your retail store? A popular trick is to send next purchase discount codes. Offer a small limited-time discount if they make another purchase.

Start customizing your transactional emails

The strategies in this post are an easy way to generate additional sales and revenue with some minor tweak. While Shopify doesn’t allow you to directly customize their transactional emails, you can start with an email template and then use a tool like Spently. Use their drag and drop functionality to add product recommendations, unique discounts and referral codes to your transactional emails.

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Whether you’re a small business owner just starting out or a more established ecommerce brand, your shipping is an essential factor in your customer experience — and by extension, your brand’s growth. 

Unexpected shipping costs, the ability (or lack thereof) to track packages, return shipping costs, and many other aspects have an immense impact on your customers’ experience with and perception of your brand. 

Below, we’ll cover the modern customer’s expectations around shipping, as well as 9 essential shipping best practices to reduce cart abandonment and returns, motivate repeat purchases, and keep customers loyal to your online store. 

9 shipping best practices your ecommerce store will benefit from

1. If you have free shipping options, make it a part of your marketing strategy
2. Track your customers’ orders and shipping statuses for them
3. Provide estimated ecommerce shipping costs and arrival dates before the final checkout stage
4. Use ecommerce shipping solutions with automation
5. Cover the cost of shipping on faulty products that need to be returned
6. Offer multiple shipping methods to accommodate customer needs (from “green” options to expedited shipping)
7. Communicate shipping issues quickly, transparently, and in a human way 
8. Have a shipping strategy with business goals
9. When possible, use multiple shipping carriers

Now that we have an idea of what customers expect when shopping online, let’s look at some of the top shipping practices for your online business that both you and your customers will benefit from. Remember, ensuring top-notch shipping practices can help retain customers, bring in new ones, and even increase your business's profit margins. 

1) If you have free shipping options, make it a part of your marketing strategy

As we mentioned earlier, one of the biggest expectations of the modern-day customer is free shipping — thanks Amazon. We already have a post on how to offer free shipping, so we won’t go into that here. Instead, we encourage you to advertise your free shipping across your site to improve your on-site conversion rate.

“The most popular shipping-related promotion is offering free shipping,” as explained by ShipBob. Even more, 60% of ecommerce companies report that “free shipping with conditions” is their most successful marketing tool, as a study from Wharton reports. Wharton’s study also finds that many customers would even prefer free shipping than a $10 reduction on product prices.

A great example of free shipping as a marketing strategy is Woxer, an apparel brand. Even though they only offer free shipping on qualifying orders, they promote that shipping policy on their website’s banner and their cart drop-down:

Additionally, with Gorgias, you can pre-load your live chat with important answers to frequently asked questions — like questions about your shipping policy:

Learn additional tips to reduce your brand’s shipping costs.

2) Track your customers’ orders and shipping statuses for them

When it comes to tracking customers’ orders and shipping statuses, consistency is key. Again, customers expect a way to track their purchases. Beyond simply creating a top-tier customer experience, proactive tracking can be an additional marketing strategy. As Forbes reports, “compared to typical marketing emails with open rates of 10% to 20%, tracking notifications can see open rates between 50% and 80%.” So, use emails to your brand’s advantage, and include as much information as possible to ensure the customer experience is positive. 

This goes beyond just showing when the package is expected to arrive through a USPS or FedEx link. Ecommerce brands that use Shopify can employ the company’s tracking add-on, Shop. Customers download the free Shop app, and as soon as they purchase from an ecommerce business that uses Shop, the order will pop up in their app. The app shows the customer all of their order details, tracking number, carrier info, and a live map of where their package is with detailed tracking info every step of the way. Brands that use Shop for a standout customer experience include Allbirds, Outdoor Voices, and Credo.

If you use Gorgias, you have a great leg-up on the competition when it comes to order tracking. Gorgias’ deep integration with ecommerce platforms like Shopify means that your customer service agents have easy access to customer order information. Plus, with self-service flows, your customers can track orders without reaching out to an agent:

3) Provide estimated ecommerce shipping costs and arrival dates before the final checkout stage

Another best practice you can implement is providing estimated shipping costs and arrival dates before the final checkout stage. Amazon is best known for this, as the company shows estimated arrival dates right on the product page — even before a customer adds the item to their shopping cart. 

This is an extremely important feature to provide, because 63% of customers abandon their carts due to high shipping costs, according to Statista. So, if your ecommerce site offers this information before customers add products to their cart, this may significantly cut down on your abandoned cart rates and avoid potential customer dissatisfaction.

Native Union, a tech accessory brand, lets customers input their zip code to estimate shipping costs and delivery times before they reach the checkout page. This is a great strategy to manage customer expectations, show off fast delivery options, and reduce cart abandonment (by avoiding unexpectedly high shipping costs at checkout):

Check out Shipping Rates Calculator on Shopify, an app that can add this kind of calculator to your store. If you use another ecommerce platform, chances are they’ll have tools with similar functionality readily available.

4) Use ecommerce shipping solutions with automation

As your brand grows, an ecommerce shipping app will become necessary. Depending on the app, they’ll take over the entire shipping process, like coordinating with delivery services, printing shipping labels, and offering a variety of other shipping services. These tools can also provide necessary metrics and analysis to further improve your shipping strategies. 

Automation tools can also benefit your customers. Because these tools offer in-depth information about the customer’s order, it’s less likely that they will need to reach out to your customer support team for assistance. A great example of this is Gorgias’ self-service order management, which lets customers track and modify orders without having to reach out — here’s an example on Steve Madden’s site:

Some of the best ecommerce shipping software on the market include:

• ShipBob: This global logistics platform is specifically for fulfilling ecommerce orders for direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands. 
• NetSuite: This cloud-based app is designed as an all-in-one solution to help your ecommerce business stay organized when it comes to financials, CRM, and ecommerce. 
• Shipup: This app is specifically for delivery and tracking information. It follows each customer’s package in real-time and can even send notifications to customers, redirect them to other tracking pages, and allows your team to proactively manage potential delivery issues. 
• LateShipment.com: This app can help your business reduce shipping costs by up to 20% by utilizing automated service-failure refunds. It also proactively resolves delivery errors, ensuring a seamless customer experience. 
• ShippingChimp: This app works alongside customer service platform, Gorgias, to automate all of your business’ order statuses and fulfillment queries. 
• AfterShip: This web-based platform helps ecommerce brands provide shipment tracking and proactive notifications to customers, as well as brand updates.
• Wonderment: This app helps prevent, “Where is my order?” complaints from your customers, and can help improve your post-purchase customer journey. 

If you use Gorgias, check out our shipping app integrations to unite your tools and create the best ecommerce tech stack possible.

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5) Cover the cost of shipping on faulty products that need to be returned

Returns and exchanges are unavoidable in the ecommerce world, but how your company handles them can make all the difference when it comes to retaining customers. If you make shipping products back to your company a hassle, customers will hesitate to shop with you again. 

Research by ShipBob shows that the majority (80.2%) of customers report they return online purchases if the item they ordered arrives damaged or broken. But 95% of shoppers who are happy with a company’s return process say that they would buy from the same retailer again. With these statistics in mind, you may want to consider covering the cost of shipping returns if the product is faulty. This return policy can put customers at ease knowing that they won’t be hit with a shipping fee on an unusable product. 

Check out our list of the best returns management tools to help you manage the returns process and retain customers, even when they aren’t satisfied with a product.

6) Offer multiple shipping methods to accommodate customer needs (from “green” options to expedited shipping)

Giving customers options when it comes to shipping will increase their likelihood of buying from you. This could include shipping options like overnight or expedited shipping, or environmentally-conscious shipping options. 

As far as eco-friendly shipping goes, a recent survey by Sifted finds that a whopping 91% of customers want an eco-friendly option at checkout. 

One company that announces carbon-offset shipping is Hive, a sustainable grocery brand. The company automatically has paid on orders that don’t reach the free shipping threshold to offset carbon emissions from shipping. However, they let shoppers know the reason behind the surcharge — and opt to let them pay extra for a pre-paid envelope to recycle certain items:

7) Communicate shipping issues quickly, transparently, and in a human way  

We covered how automation and shipping apps can curb shipping issues before they happen, but sometimes issues still arise. We have all experienced shipping delays around the holidays, or at various points during the pandemic. When a customer faces a shipping issue like long delays or a lost package, the best way your team can handle it is with honesty.

Customers want to be able to trust the company they're purchasing from, and sensing that the company is lying is not an ideal way to keep customers. Inc finds that dissatisfied customers tell between 9 and 15 people about a bad experience. 

So, be transparent, honest, and human in your responses. If you know their package was lost, tell them that and offer a solution. Consider sending the product again, or offering a gift card if the product is no longer available. 

And if you have larger issues affecting many customers, consider taking a proactive customer service approach and adding an announcement to your website or contacting everyone who’s recently placed an order letting them know about resulting delays.

For more tips about providing customer support that improves customer relationships and loyalty, read our post on ecommerce customer service best practices. 

8) Have a shipping strategy with business goals

High-level thinking about your ecommerce company’s shipping strategy can have excellent benefits. It’s important not to create your shipping strategy in a vacuum: Involve team members from every department to ensure your shipping strategies align with overall business goals and the bottom line. You can ask yourself and your team questions like:

• How much should we focus on increasing conversions?
• Do we need to grow our customer base more, or analyze our current audience?
• How much do we want to increase our average order value to align with growth goals?
• How much would we like to decrease costs?

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9) When possible, use multiple shipping carriers

The last shipping practice we want to cover is the importance of using multiple shipping companies. In addition to the numerous shipping and supply chain issues that come and go as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, there are additional legitimate reasons to consider using multiple shipping carriers, including reducing shipping prices. 

First, you’ll have more leverage in negotiating carrier rates if you don’t box your company into working with only one carrier. Second, you’ll have more flexibility when performing local delivery versus international shipping, as carriers like UPS, USPS, and DHL are all cost-effective for certain types of shipping. And third, using a multi-carrier approach will help avoid potential risks. If something goes sour with one carrier, you have backups (think about the USPS issues we faced during the height of the pandemic). 

Customers expect quick, free, and convenient shipping now more than ever

The pandemic brought on many changes, one of which was a dramatic increase in online shopping. Global online sales grew 11% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2021, according to 2021Q3 data from Salesforce. At the height of the pandemic, consumers increased their online shopping out of necessity, which meant that brands were also forced to change how they approached their shipping and other ecommerce strategies. 

We can speculate that during this time period, customers became even more aware of gaps or flaws in certain ecommerce brands' strategies. With more consumers shopping online than ever, ecommerce businesses must meet the growing and changing expectations of online shoppers. These customer expectations include:

The quicker the better

Amazon’s free two-day delivery for Prime members — now sometimes even same-day shipping — has set the bar quite high for other ecommerce companies, though many can’t compete with the retail giant. According to Invesp, 80% of consumers want same-day delivery while 56% under 35 years old expect it.

If it’s not free, it’s (maybe) not worth it

In recent years, customers have upped their expectations when it comes to shipping costs. In the past, many were okay paying extra for expedited shipping, but as of 2019, over 75% of customers expect free shipping on all orders, as the National Retail Federation finds. This figure was up 7% from 2018.

Convenience is king

Overall convenience is another factor that customers care a lot about. 83% of consumers are willing to admit that convenience is important, according to a 2020 survey from the National Retail Federation. The same survey also finds that 97% of cart abandonment is due to inconvenience. 

Order tracking is a must

Lastly, consumers want to know when their orders will arrive. As stated in Metapak’s fourth annual Global Ecommerce Consumer Research Report, 69% of customers say that the ability to track orders is one of their top three considerations when shopping online.  

Integrate your shipping software with Gorgias to streamline your customer service workflow

Shipping is an important element of your customer experience, which is make-or-break for modern ecommerce brands. 

Gorgias is the leading helpdesk for ecommerce businesses because it’s built exclusively around the needs of ecommerce businesses in mind. Our platform can keep all of your team’s support tickets in one place, automate responses to customers, and integrate with your favorite ecommerce apps, including many shipping tools. 

Book a demo to learn more about how Gorgias helps brands grow through happy customers.

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TL;DR:

• PayPal stands out as the best payment option for ecommerce because of its widespread use and easy integration.
• Shopify Payments suits small businesses well with its easy integration and straightforward use on Shopify.
• For enterprise businesses, Magento Payments provides a comprehensive solution to address complex payment processing needs.
• Customers tend to prefer on-site payment processing because they can complete their purchases right on the website, unlike off-site processing which requires payment to be completed on a third-party website.

There are a lot of different ecommerce payment options to choose from when setting up your online store. This guide will help you choose the right ones for you and your customers.

We’ll cover:

• The definition of payment gateways
• The things you need to consider when selecting an ecommerce payment platform
• 12 payment platforms for you to consider

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12 most popular ecommerce payment options businesses need to accept

To help you prevent high cart abandonment rates, we’ve narrowed down the best ecommerce payment options for 2023.

1. PayPal

Image Source: PayPal.

Pros: Most popular payment processor, leads to higher conversion rates than other payment platforms

Cons: High fees, payments can be held for up to six months

PayPal needs no introduction. It’s the biggest payment processing platform on the globe, with more than 254 million active users. What’s more, ecommerce stores using PayPal have 82% higher conversion rates than their competitors.

However, like everything else, PayPal isn’t perfect. Unlike some of the platforms we have on the list, it isn’t free. PayPal has pretty high fees that will vary from region to region. Of course, with enough volume this can be negotiated.

PayPal is also known for holding payments for up to six months. They aren’t exactly the sellers’ first choice, but with such a high market share, customers trust them which is why we’re ranking them number 1 on our list of payment providers. 

2. Shopify Payments

Image Source: Shopify. 

‎Pros: Integrates with the most popular ecommerce platform,

Cons: Not available in all countries

Second on our list is the payment gateway developed by Shopify. Since it’s the most widely used ecommerce platform in the world, it only makes sense that the company would create its own payment system.

Similar to WooCommerce Payment below, you can access Shopify Payments from your dashboard. Shopify Payments keeps your customers on your site, and is included with your plan.

As Shopify continues to evolve, they’ve also rolled out Shop Pay. It’ll allow customers to store their billing and shipping details, and in turn, make the checkout process a lot quicker.

3. Magento Payments

Pros: Offers customization and flexibility for enterprise-level needs

Cons: May require technical expertise to unlock full capabilities

Magento has been around for more than a decade at this point. Based on their experience with online merchants, the company has launched Magento Payments, a platform that can help you reduce operational complexities, lessen costs, and improve conversions.

Furthermore, with a merchant account, Magento Payments gives you an all-in-one solution that streamlines the payment process for you and your customers. It eliminates the need for 3rd-party account management, additional expertise, or subscription costs.

4. Big Commerce

Pros: 55+ payment gateways

Cons: Varying transaction fees

With cost-effective price plans and customizable options, this SaaS platform works perfectly for small ecommerce stores and mid-sized business owners. It offers more than 55 pre-integrated payment gateways to ecommerce sellers from all over the world.

At the moment, the payment option is available in almost 100 countries. It’s also available in more than 140 world currencies. The setup is also perfect for beginners: you just need to click a single button, and you start accepting credit card payments from all of the major players. 

5. Visa Checkout

Image Source: CloudApp.

Pros: Accessible to customers worldwide

Cons: Limited to users on Visa

If many of your shoppers are Visa holders, Visa checkout should be the most obvious payment solution for you. Considering the fact that there are more than 21 million Visa Checkout users across the globe, it’s a safe bet that some of your visitors might prefer this payment option. 

With this option, Visa users won’t have to fill in their personal information. They’ll be able to enter their credit card information, and they’ll be able to finalize the purchase. Visa Checkout can potentially increase conversions by 42%. A little convenience can go a long way. 

6. Square 

Pros: Well-suited for companies with brick-and-mortar and online stores

Cons: High transaction fees

Most users associate Square with POS payments, however, the company offers ecommerce payment processing services as well. By using their API, your website will be able to accept a number of payment methods from this list, including Google Pay and Apple Pay.

And that’s not all. Square can also make things easier for your customers additionally, by allowing them to create their own profiles. That means they won’t need to input their login data every time they want to purchase something from you. 

If you’re already using Square POS, adding them to your website may be a natural fit.

7. Stripe

Image Source: Stripe.

Pros: Low operating costs, suited for ecommerce stores

Cons: Day-to-day management requires more technical know-how

Besides on-demand marketplaces and crowdfunding campaigns, Stripe works perfectly for people that have their own stores as well. More than 1,000 of ecommerce stores have managed to build their business around Stripe. 

According to research commissioned by Stripe, companies using the platform have been able to increase their revenue by 6.7% during the first year of business. Compared to others, Stripe users also have 24% lower operating costs. 

Stripe is so trusted, that Shopify Payments is built on it. 

8. ProMerchant

Pros: Transparent pricing plans

Cons: Limited contactless payment options

This Massachusetts-based company offers a number of processing solutions to its customers. One of their most popular products is an ecommerce payment platform that's free to use. There are no upfront costs when you’re accepting card payments. 

The company uses Authorize.net as their payment gateway platform. This allows you to be as flexible as possible. With ProMerchant, your store will be able to accept payments from a number of different companies, including Mastercard, Visa, and Discover. 

9. Amazon Pay

Pros: Connects to Amazon, large customer base

Cons: Long registration process

Millions of people use Amazon to buy products every single day. There’s no reason not to try and turn some of these people into regular customers? By using the Amazon Pay platform, you’ll allow Amazon users to shop on your website without jumping through hoops.

For many people, the registration process takes too much time. They don’t want to enter their information, come up with a password, and wait for a confirmation email just to buy something. Remove all of these barriers with Amazon Pay. 

10. Apple Pay

Pros: Most accessible to North American customers

Cons: Limited to Apple users

Nearly two-thirds of Americans use Apple products. For most of them, their Apple product doubles as a digital wallet. Naturally, they use their Apple accounts to pay for products on websites that accept it. 

Apple Pay makes things incredibly easy for iPhone owners by leveraging touch identification and allowing users to pay for products with literally a single touch. If you want to get a piece of the action, then consider this platform.

Apple Pay, like Google Pay, makes mobile checkout almost instantaneous, and is already included with many payment providers. 

11. Google Pay 

Pros: Large customer base, easy payments for Android users

Cons: Not adopted by all merchants

Millions and millions of people already have their data saved on Google accounts. That’s why the biggest tech giant in the world has created its own payment platform. If you’re targeting a large user base, it can’t get larger than this.

Additionally, Google offers top-notch security that will make the consumers feel safe at all times. The platform can help you set up a loyalty program, offer gift cards, and various other discounts for most-loyal buyers.

12. WooCommerce Payment

Pros: Directly integrates with WordPress

Cons: Limited to US customers

Let’s round it off with a built-in integration. If you’re a WooCommerce user with no intention of changing your platform, then this could be the right solution for you. WooCommerce payment allows you to manage your finances swiftly and safely. 

You don’t have to learn anything new, either. You can safely use the plugin from the safety of your dashboard.

The benefits of payment gateways in ecommerce

Payment gateway technology is used by store owners to accept credit and debit cards from shoppers. In a traditional sense, the term refers to both physical, card-reading devices found in stores and payment processor apps, typically found on ecommerce websites. However, in this post, we’ll only talk about the latter. So any time we mention a payment gateway, we’re talking about an online application. 

Why do small businesses need payment gateways?

• They make the checkout process easier
• They keep customers’ information safe

1. They make the checkout process easier

Have you ever tried to buy an item only to find out that the purchase process is overly complicated and not worth your time? There’s a good chance you did. Most shoppers come across this problem more often than you think.

That’s why shopping cart abandonment rates are still considerably high. This March, more than 88% of shoppers in the United States have filled their virtual shopping carts, only to abandon them completely, before finishing the transaction. 

If you want to decrease your cart abandonment rates, allow your customer to make purchases easily, and improve your revenue, you need a good payment gateway. It will remove any possible barriers, make the process feel intuitive, and lessen the need for customer support.. 

2. They keep customers’ information safe

Every day, thousands of people have their credit card numbers leaked, identities stolen, their bank accounts drained. For that reason, most shoppers are mainly concerned about preventing ID theft.

Recent studies indicate that around 1 in 5 online shoppers have had their identity stolen at some point in their life. Because of this, around 40% of consumers will only buy products from well-known websites. 

If you want to attract new customers, you need to make them feel safe.

The best way to do that is to use a payment service that will keep their sensitive information completely safe. Your system needs to have proper encryption along with other security features. Being transparent about your security measures can also help. 

How to choose a payment gateway for ecommerce: 3 considerations

There are dozens if not hundreds of payment platforms for you to choose from. If you’re opening an online store for the first time, you’re probably not sure what to look for. We want to explore the common options you have to you.

When selecting a payment gateway for your ecommerce business, there are three specific things you should keep your eye on.

1. On-site and off-site processing

The first thing you need to think about is whether you want your shoppers to leave your website or not. 

For example, PayPal, one of the biggest payment solutions out there, requires users to leave the merchant’s website in order to finish their payment process. You can pay a fee to make sure the payment is processed without requiring shoppers to go to an external site. We highly recommend choosing a payment option that will keep uses on your site.

2. Types of payment methods

Different companies have different payment methods. Besides debit and credit card processing, there are plenty of other options including gift cards, financing, cryptocurrencies, and many more 3rd-party options. 

In order to know what will work best for you, getting familiar with your consumer base is a must. See what payment methods your visitors prefer and only then make a choice. 

3. Customer protection and security

We simply can’t stress enough the importance of data protection. If the payment platform you’ve started using has experienced data leaks, then the consumers might not be too keen on doing work with you. 

Moreover, you should make sure that the platform you’re using doesn’t come with any hidden monthly fees. The safety of your consumers should be your number one priority.

Improve the customer experience

Now that you’re familiar with the best ecommerce gateways, you can improve the experience of your customers, help them finish their purchase in a matter of seconds, and grow your store, without managing cart abandonment rates all the time. 

So let’s recap:

• Payment gateways are there to make the purchase process easier
• Without the right payment platform, your shoppers will feel insecure
• Select a platform based on your needs

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In the past, the best way for online stores to grow was to spend heavily on paid advertising. The thinking: get your brand in front of an audience, and sales will just… happen.

But this ecommerce growth tactic is outdated because paid advertising has become outrageously expensive, and many shoppers make purchasing decisions based on customer experience and trust, not ad spend.

Before you dedicate an enormous growth budget to paid customer acquisition, read our guide for more sustainable, customer-centric tips to grow your online store.

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12 sustainable ecommerce growth strategies for brands

1. Determine KPIs, and reverse engineer your strategy from those metrics 
2. Create a long-term SEO plan to rule Google search results
3. Establish a social media presence to generate more website traffic, social proof, and sales
4. Invest in customer service as your top customer loyalty program
5. Implement live chat to boost customer satisfaction and sales
6. Automate time-consuming tasks
7. Find profitable niches to expand your business
8. Form relationships with influencers in your industry
9. Pick the right digital payments platform for your store
10. Use ecommerce advertising to expand your reach (but carefully)
11. Realize the power of email marketing
12. Create a conversion rate optimization (CRO) plan

1. Determine KPIs, and reverse engineer your strategy from those metrics 

You can’t really develop an ecommerce growth strategy without knowing how to know what needs improvement. Without solid key performance indications (KPIs) as a benchmark (and a signal on where to improve), your growth strategy will be little more than guesswork. Pause on the “growth hacking” until you have solid data.

Measuring your KPIs can help you answer questions like: 

• What made your store successful in the first place? 
• What efforts haven’t been paying off?
• What revenue-boosting strategies work best? 

KPIs every ecommerce business should track fall into four distinctive categories: 

1. Monetary indicators: Tracking profit and revenue and increasing return on investment 
2. Customer indicators: Regulating the number of former, current, and future customers
3. Purchase indicators: Analyzing people that have attempted or made a purchase 
4. Conversion indicators: Assessing the number of people that have converted

Any customer service platform worth the price will help you track key KPIs. Gorgias, for example, provides revenue statistics, real-time support performance data, and up-to-date customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores. 

Benefits of tracking ecommerce KPIs

Tracking KPIs requires you to acquire new tools, learn how to use them, and train your employees. Is tracking KPIs really worth your investment? Here are a few reasons why tracking KPIs is worth the effort:

• Provides you with a complete, objective overview of your goals and progress
• Gives you a benchmark for your current ecommerce sales, conversion rate, and more 
• Gives you the ability to make more informed decisions based on data
• Allows for a evidence-based employee management and evaluation
• Guides you to new ways to optimize brand exposure, lower bounce rates, improve click-through rate (CTR), and more

Want to know more about tracking ecommerce KPIs?

Keeping track of performance can help you bring your business to new heights. If you’re interested in knowing more about KPIs, how they can help you, and which ones to track, read our guide to ecommerce KPIs. 

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2. Create a long-term SEO plan to rule Google search results

Organic search (when people use a search engine like Google) is the #1 source of traffic for ecommerce. One of the reasons for this is the fact that people, especially young people, actively ignore paid Instagram and Facebook ads. (Plus, those tactics are wildly expensive.)

That’s why your store needs search engine optimization (SEO). Specifically, you at least need to optimize your homepage and product pages to ensure your store is a top Google results when people are online shopping for the kinds of products and services you sell. 

And, if you have the bandwidth, consider launching a full-fledged content marketing program (with blog posts and other educational content) to get even more eyes on your ecommerce site.

While most SEO refers to Google searches, online stores also have to think about marketplace SEO. If you sell on Amazon, for example, you’ll want to optimize your product descriptions to show up at the top of relevant search results. 

Check out Amazon’s SEO guide for more information.

Benefits of ecommerce SEO 

Is SEO really that great of a marketing campaign? Do its benefits apply to small businesses? Let’s take a look at some of SEO’s biggest benefits:

• Allows you to stay competitive despite the increasing number of new ecommerce brands
• Lets you compete with large corporations despite a modest marketing budget
• Helps you bring a steady stream of shoppers to fill your marketing funnel (in other words, attract potential customers)
• Significantly lowers your pay per click (PPC) costs while allowing you to continue attracting customers
• Creates lasting (and compounding) value, whereas paid ads quickly become irrelevant and ineffective

Want to know more about ecommerce SEO?

You can optimize your ecommerce website for search with a few quick wins, but the best SEO strategies are long-term marketing investments that compound over time. Check out our posts on ecommerce SEO:

• 10 Step Guide to Ecommerce SEO
• Shopify SEO Guide: How To Optimize Your Shopify Store for Organic Traffic
• How to Boost Sales with Blog Content for Ecommerce Brands

3. Establish a social media presence to generate more website traffic, social proof, and sales

A 2021 Forbes survey of 6,000 shoppers found that about two thirds of shoppers use social media as part of their online shopping routine. They either discover a brand through its social posting, check out the Instagram for product photos, or look through customer conversations in the comments.

Check out how CROSSNET uses social media cross-marketing to grow their audience:

Not only can social media persuade your target demo that you’re the right store for them but it can also expose your business to customers you didn’t even plan on targeting. In addition to retail sales growth, it will help you expand to markets you haven’t even thought about.

Benefits of social media marketing

Of course, having a page/profile on all of the more popular social media platforms is a must nowadays. But should you continuously invest in social media marketing? Consider this:

• Brings in more traffic to your website and increases online sales in the process
• Increases conversion rates by helping you create relationships with followers
• Builds trust with your target demographic and boosts brand loyalty
• Leads to better customer satisfaction rates through direct dialogue (when you perform social media customer service)

Want to know more about social media marketing for ecommerce?

If you want to read further about how your store could benefit from social media marketing or know more about the best strategies, we recommend you read our article on the topic. There, you’ll find out everything you need for a winning social media strategy. 

4. Invest in customer service as your top customer loyalty program

Without your customers and their loyalty, your business wouldn’t exist. Simple as that. Focus on providing incredible customer service, and you’ll see increased customer satisfaction, more testimonials and customer referrals, and higher retention and repeat purchases from cusotmers. 

32% of shoppers say they would no longer shop with a brand they loved after one bad experience, according to PwC’s Future of CX report. You don’t have to worry about “delighting” every customer. But you do have to provide quick, effective service (and a great customer experience) to build trust and keep customers from shopping with your competitor. 

Want to learn more about growing through customer experience? Check out our CX-Driven Growth Playbook, a compilation of 18 tactics from top ecommerce brands to raise your revenue by up to 44%.

Benefits of ecommerce customer support 

Without a question, investing in customer support is a must. Here are some of the benefits you can expect when you start investing in providing a great customer experience through service:

• Gives you a direct communication channel with shoppers (to receive feedback and product reviews) 
• Establishes a reputation as a caring brand that takes good care of shoppers
• Provides a chance to upsell customers (when the time is right)
• Gives you a chance to answer questions, handle objections, and remove any other barriers to a sale
• Integrates easily with other channels, especially intimate and high-touch channels like text marketing
• Lowers shopping cart abandonment rates significantly and helps with cross-selling efforts  

Want to know more about ecommerce customer service?

Your business heavily depends on a great customer experience (and customer satisfaction rates staying high). While chasing after new customers may seem like the fastest way to grow, investing in customer service is your best bet for sustainable growth.

Check out our guide on customer service best practices for more strategies. 

5. Implement live chat to boost customer satisfaction and sales

Live chat is one of the best ways to provide in-context, efficient customer service. We also find that Gorgias customers who use live chat can increase conversion rate through the channel by proactively offering discount codes

Live chat also allows your customer service agent to serve multiple customers simultaneously. And, when you use self-service portal and chat contact form, you can offer live chat support even when you don’t have a human agent to staff the channel. 

Here’s how shoppers can use the self-service portal to answer their questions — in this case, track and update their order — without interacting with an agent:

Benefits of live chat for ecommerce 

Unlike physical stores, most online stores provide limited communication options to their visitors. A customer can’t just walk up to you and ask you a question. Live chat offer that. And live chat can facilitate sales, just like a physical attendant who can answer questions and give product recommendations in the moment. Here’s what can live chat do for you:

• Saves your customer service agents and buyers precious time
• Enables customer service agents to serve several people at the same time
• Gives shoppers relevant recommendations and solutions to their problems (unblocking sales)
• Proactively reaches out to customers during the checkout process to reduce cart abandonment
• Provides additional options for customer self-service

Want to know more about live chat for ecommerce?

Live chat bridges the gap between real-world and online retail by enabling you to help your customers in real-time. 

Read our piece on how live chat can increase sales on your online store.

6. Automate time-consuming tasks

As your business grows, you’ll only take on more time-demanding tasks. On their own, these tasks are harmless. However, they can quickly swell and distract you from higher-impact projects in your growth strategy.

Thankfully, tasks like customer segmentation, order tracking, and many parts of your digital marketing (like creating social media posts) can all be automated. With the right tools by your side, you’ll ensure that your business stays profitable. 

That’s why 89% of businesses already automation some parts of their growth tactics, according to a 2019 survey from Automizy.

Benefits of ecommerce automation

Small tasks can consume a lot of your time. What can you do with all of that free time? Here’s what ecommerce automation does for you:

• Helps you manage your inventory much easier and ship products faster
• Offers better customer experience with better response time, shipping, and returns
• Allows you to focus on more complicated aspects of your operation and improve ROI
• Improvers customer service with automated letters and email responses to inquiries
• Makes social media marketing a lot easier by scheduling posts on multiple platforms

Want to know more about ecommerce automation?

Ecommerce automation is a broad topic. You can automate elements of your digital marketing, your customer service, your administrative tasks the build up here and there. 

Take a look at out our guide on ecommerce automation for further reading.

7. Find profitable niches to expand your business

In ecommerce, a niche is a specific segment of the retail market’s target audience interested in a particular product type. Niches can be narrow and wide. A wide niche would be beauty products and a narrow niche would be male, eco-friendly care products.  

Some of the top ecommerce niches in 2022 include:

• Next-generation beauty products
• Next-generation phone accessories
• Vape products
• Lighting decor
• Tools and hardware supplies

If you want to expand your business, it would be smart to find a particular niche to target. These are trending niches, but you should expand wherever is most relevant to your existing brand and customer base. By targeting a specific group of customers over the long haul, you can more easily establish yourself as the go-to brand. 

Benefits of finding a profitable ecommerce niche

Trying to please everyone is a recipe for disaster. Finding a niche and sticking to it will help your business with: 

• Attracts a group of people that is willing to pay more and stay loyal to a brand
• Helps you stand out among your competitors by having a more unique (and desirable) offering
• Lets you stay on top of current trends and staying in touch with young consumers
• Lowers your costs of advertising and helping attract new people more easily

Want to know more about profitable ecommerce niches?

Expanding into a new niche is no small decision. You have to ensure the expansion makes sense for your existing customers and brand, as well as your future growth goals.

Check out our guide on choosing a niche for more information.

8. Form relationships with influencers in your industry

According to 2021 Statista data, nearly 35% of social media users were either likely or extremely likely to purchase a brand’s product or service because an influencer promoted it. Ecommerce influencers are one of the best ways to increase exposure for new products (or to new audiences).

Below, you can see how Princess Polly partnered with an Instagram influencer with over 11,000 followers to increase brand awareness and bolster social proof:

These people are the ones you need to partner up with. Regardless of your ecommerce industry or the niche you’re targeting, certain influencers can help you improve sales. 

Not even your geographical location makes a difference. There are influencers in North America, Latin America, and even in the Asia-Pacific region — there are plenty of high-impact influencers in China. There are also influencers on every social media platform, from TikTok to LinkedIn.

Working with an influencer can expose your brand to the global ecommerce market and boost your marketing efforts beyond your wildest dreams. If done correctly, partnering with an influencer can expand your social reach, ensure growth, and improve your bottom line. 

Benefits of teaming up with influencers

Although “influencer marketing” is a recent phenomenon, people have been using the influence of others to sell products for decades. Another way marketers describe this is “social proof.” Here’s what you can expect from it:

• Builds trust between you and your customers in a short period of time
• Gets more people to know about your store, offering, and brand message
• Helps your content strategy reach new levels and attract more people than ever
• Provides content and value to your target demographic on a regular basis
• Reaches audiences you haven’t even thought about and sending them your way 

Want to know more about influencer marketing for ecommerce?

Influencer marketing is one of the best growth hacks for ecommerce stores, thanks to the wide reach of influencers and the impact they can have on brand exposure and product awareness. 

Check out our guide on ecommerce influencers for more information.

9. Pick the right digital payments platform for your store

Consumer behavior has changed drastically over the past decade. Just 10 years ago, a vast majority of consumers couldn’t imagine going shopping without any cash on them. Today, most people are more than glad to go cashless. 

According to 2021 data from Statista, digital wallets and credit cards are by far the most common ways to make purchases . Online payment apps like Venmo and Paypal aren’t far behind.

Merchants that want to expand their businesses need to offer seamless payment options to their customers. Having the right platform will speed up the entire purchase process for both local and international customers alike, all while making them feel 100% safe. Fortunately, Shopify, BigCommerce, and other major ecommerce platforms offer multiple payment options.

Benefits of having the right payment platform

What’s the preferred platform for your audience? That’s the question you need to answer. Here’s how using the right payment gateway helps your business:

• Allow customers to open accounts on your website without entering too much data
• Accept multiple payment methods through a simple, single integration
• Enable cross-border payments, helping you reach a worldwide consumer base
• Speed up transactions and increasing customer satisfaction rates in the process
• Increase security levels and helping you gain the trust of first-time customers 

Want to know more ecommerce payment platforms?

Offering the right payment methods could make or break user experience and customer trust. 

Check out our guide on ecommerce payments to learn more.

10. Use ecommerce advertising to expand your reach (but carefully)

Pay per click (PPC) advertising is a form of online advertising in which the business owner pays a certain amount of money every time a consumer clicks on their advertisement. 

There are plenty of platforms you can use to host your ads. This includes search engines like Google and Bing, social networks like Facebook and Instagram, as well as popular websites like TechCrunch and Search Engine Journal.  

Benefits of ecommerce advertising

SEO might be a more cost-effective way to market your business, but paid advertising is a great way for quick bursts of growth. Here are the benefits of paid ads: 

• Target highly specific groups of consumers
• Give you an additional source of website visitors besides SEO
• Help you track your ad spending exhaustively, to the last penny
• Save your money until you start seeing new visitors and real results
• Allow users to adjust their ad strategy and spending on the fly

Want to know more about pay per click?

For most players in ecommerce, paid advertising is a strong strategy. (Of course, it can never replace customer experience.) If you choose to invest heavily in pay per click advertising, you must make sure you understand your customers to advertise on the right platforms to the right targeted segments. 

Read our guide on ecommerce marketing for more information on the best ways to increase exposure and drive more sales.

11. Realize the power of email marketing

Even though some people think that email marketing is on a decline, that’s not even close to the truth. Failing to invest in email marketing would be a huge mistake. The fact of the matter is, without email, your sales, user engagement, and returning customer base would drop. 

In a 2020 survey from Litmus, four out five growth marketers said they’d rather give up social media than email. Email may be old-fashioned, but it’s not out-dated. You check your email most days, don’t you? 

With email, you’ll be able to directly reach your customers and serve them weekly content, without relying on social media algorithms. Not only that but with retargeting, you’ll be able to lower your cart abandonment rates significantly and increase conversions in no time.  

Benefits of email marketing for ecommerce 

Paying more attention to your email campaigns comes with a lot of pros and a very few cons. Here some of the benefits you can expect to experience:

• Gather actionable feedback from large groups of customers
• Send your subscribers fresh content weekly through newsletters
• Mail discount coupons and other rewards to loyal customers
• Retarget customers that have left your site without making a purchase
• Lower cart abandonment rates and reactivating inactive customers

Want to know more about ecommerce email marketing?

Is email marketing something you want to get into? Do you know how to start building a list of leads? What do you want to accomplish with your strategy? 

Take a look at our ecommerce email marketing best practices to learn the basics. 

12. Create a conversion rate optimization (CRO) plan

Ecommerce conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors that make a purchase. Have a low conversion rate? In the world of ecommerce, that’s nothing out of the ordinary. Most US ecommerce websites have a conversion rate between 1% and 2%. 

Of course, the rate varies greatly between different sectors. Some ecommerce niches have rates as high as 4.9% while others have as low as 1.4%. 

All of this doesn’t mean that you should be satisfied with your rate. Your website can always use some conversion rate optimization. How can you boost your conversion rate? In many ways actually, some of which include:

• Avoiding lengthy sign-up forms
• Allowing shoppers to buy without registering
• Placing CTA buttons in all of the right places
• Sending cart abandonment emails 

Don’t underestimate the power of CRO. By improving your conversion rate by a percent, you can double your revenue. 

Benefits of boosting conversion rates

Dedicating a certain amount of time each week to conversion rate optimization can make your business strategy more effective. But there are lots of other CRO benefits:

• Learn more about your regular customers and their shopping habits
• Boost store revenue by running ads based on your customer insights
• Lower customer acquisition costs and improving the average order value
• Improve SERP rankings and exposing your store to a brand-new audience
• Make more informed business decisions and taking only calculated risks  

Want to know more about ecommerce conversion rates?

Conversion rate optimization is a full-time job at some companies. But even if you can’t hire a CRO specialist, you can (and probably should) make a plan to ensure as many visitors as possible end up making a purchase.

Read our guide on ecommerce conversion rate to learn more about how to maximizes sales on your site.

13. Invest in product photography to improve sales

As an ecommerce store owner, your job is to sell products. And when customers can’t pick up and hold your products, your product images become paramount. 

Nowadays, consumers are being bombarded with visual content.  Social networks, streaming platforms, and forums, all thrive from visual content. With so much visual content on the Internet, consumers now ignore most things that don’t tickle their imagination right away.

The Social Ms reports that 67% of potential shoppers say image quality is an important. Think about it: would you trust a brand with low-quality product photos?

That’s why you need to take steps to ensure that your products are looking crisp. Whether this means hiring a professional to handle the work or taking things into your own hands is all up to you. Just make sure that your visuals are on high quality and show the product in its best light. 

Benefits of investing in product photography

Organizing a professional photoshoot is not a small task to tackle. A lot of time and money goes into photo sessions. Here are a few reasons why you need to focus on product pics:

• Allows consumers to have a better perception of your products
• Helps mobile shoppers have a better view of your product offering  
• Improves the speed of trust, making the shoppers trust you right away
• Increases the conversion rates by helping customers make quicker decisions
• Strengthens your business’ brand identity and separating you from competitors

Want to know more about product photography?

Product photography can be a significant investment, so it’s important to hire a great product photographer at the right time. 

Read our guide on ecommerce product photography to learn the smart approach to great product photos.

Provide the best customer experience possible to maximize ecommerce growth

Ecommerce growth is a complex beast. Whether you decide to invest in PPC, hire a product photographer, or start working on an email marketing strategy, one thing is certain: your customers always come first. 

You need to keep your customer service at a high level, in order for your business to continue growing. And you can’t possibly do that without the right tools.

Gorgias is a customer service platform built specifically for ecommerce. Gorgias users provide more efficient (and satisfying) customer service, generate more revenue, and get up-to-date support and revenue data from the tool. 

If you want to see how Gorgias can help your ecommerce business grow, check out our customer story on Ohh Deer, a small business that used Gorgias to generate $12,500 per quarter through customer experience. 

The post-purchase experience is a crucial window of time that starts the moment after a customer checks out and completes a transaction on your ecommerce store. Clicking “buy” is not a finish line in the customer relationship: It’s the beginning of the next leg in the customer journey, from first-time shopper to (hopefully) loyal customer.

With the right tactics and strategies, ecommerce businesses create post-purchase experiences that proactively support these new buyers, strengthen the relationship, and nudge them to return to the store.

Follow these nine strategies to make your brand’s post-purchase experience more customer-centric and profitable.

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9 post-purchase experience strategies for ecommerce stores

We define the post-purchase experience as any and all touchpoints a customer has with a brand from the moment the shopper completes checkout until they start using your product. Building a powerful post-purchase experience that creates long-lasting customer loyalty takes finesse because a lot of small pieces make up the customer experience.

Here are nine strategies for how to encourage better post-purchase behavior among your customers. 

📚Recommended reading: 20 Ecommerce Customer Service Best Practices to Help You Level Up

1) Figure out notable touchpoints on your customers’ journey

There are a lot of best practices when it comes to encouraging repeat business, but often brands jump right into tactics and overlook the overall journey. 

“My biggest piece of advice,” says Bri Christiano, Director of Customer Support at Gorgias, “is to really understand the customer journey for your business. Which touchpoints are going to drive the most revenue?” 

The first step is to consider the outcomes you want from the post-purchase experience. Most likely, those outcomes include: 

• Reducing churn
• Convincing shoppers to upgrade to a subscription 
• Getting people to refer their friends 
• Cross-selling or upselling 

Then, as you set up touchpoints like email campaigns or SMS messages, think about the different moments where your shoppers will be most engaged post-purchase. 

Ideally, you’ll catch them while they're already interacting or thinking about you. You don't want to try to talk to them randomly when they're probably not thinking about you or their experience. The more personalized you can make the experience, the better. That means segmenting emails based on a customer’s profile wherever possible. 

“My biggest piece of advice is to really understand the customer journey for your business. Which touchpoints are going to drive the most revenue?”

— Bri Christiano, Head of Customer Support at Gorgias 

Keep in mind that the flows will look different over time to a first-time purchaser than to someone who's been a customer for a year. 

When you should do this 

As you’re starting to optimize the post-purchase experience for your brand, this is the first step to take. 

How to get started  

First, map out your customers’ journey. You can use anything, from a tool like Miro to a whiteboard. We recommend this article on customer journey mapping in retail from Delighted.

Then, take a look at the emails you're sending today and start with the small elements. How often are shoppers opening those emails? Why do you think they're not opening them? Maybe you have the wrong subject line, or perhaps you’re sending emails on the wrong day.

Then, consider how your customers behave and think about some small tweaks you can make. Be sure you’re looking at your current metrics like email open and click rates or CSAT scores as you’re doing this audit. 

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2) Offer a great unboxing experience

Shoppers already look forward to receiving packages in the mail. But sending eye-catching, fun packaging that people actually want to keep makes your brand stand out. It also sparks joy by turning the simple task of unboxing into an enjoyable, surprising experience. 

For example, stationery shop Ohh Deer and its subscription brand Papergang send creative and recyclable packaging to their customers. The boxes and packaging are so loved that fans post unboxing videos on YouTube. 

📚Recommended reading: Ohh Deer uses Gorgias Chat to provide excellent CX & generate revenue by $12,500/quarter

When you should do this 

Now is a great time to start! The sooner you create fun and interesting packaging, the sooner your customers can start enjoying it. 

How to set this up 

Use a tool like Arka or Fantastapack to create custom boxes for your brand. If you don’t have design skills yourself, hire a freelance designer to work on the design for you. 

3) Set up and launch post-purchase email campaigns

Sending detailed and personalized post-purchase email campaigns is a major part of your overall email marketing and post-purchase strategies. This is how you’ll stay engaged with customers throughout their post-purchase journey. These campaigns also make up a key part of your marketing strategy as a business. 

📚Recommended reading: 16 Useful Email Templates for Your Customer Service Teams

Order confirmation emails

Let shoppers know that you’ve got their order and you’re working on it to give them peace of mind that their payment went through and that it’s coming soon. You can set up various order status updates in your ecommerce platform (like Shopify). 

Post purchase, before an order ships

Before a customer’s order ships, you have the opportunity to upsell customers and add that item to the same shipping box. Not only are you driving additional sales here, but from a cost perspective (especially if you offer free shipping) it helps you out as a business. 

For example, maybe a customer signed up to get notified when an out-of-stock item comes back in. Now that it's in stock again, you can send that item out with whatever that customer already purchased. 

You can use a Shopify app like AfterSell to upsell customers after checkout.

When an order ships 

Send a shipping confirmation email and offer order tracking so that shoppers can stay up to date with the whereabouts of their package. 

You can also use a tool like AfterShip to automate real-time tracking updates.

After an order gets delivered

A good rule of thumb is to trigger different emails based on the delivery status. But within a few days, under the assumption that someone needs a few days to check out the new product. 

Check in to ask questions like:

• How is your order
• Did you have any feedback for us?
• Was it the right size? 

To nudge them to purchase a refill or subscribe 

If you sell a physical product like soap, vitamins, or soda, customers will likely run out of them within a set amount of time. If you can figure out what that average amount of time is, you can trigger an email reminding them to refill or sign up for a subscription. 

For example, Method soaps are all built around the eco-friendly principle of refilling, keeping waste to a minimum (and as it happens, strongly pushing repeat purchase decisions and driving up customer lifetime value). 

The company sends replenishment emails that nudge customers to purchase those refills, often with a special, time-limited discount attached.

When a free trial is about to run out 

Some brands, like curiosities retailer Uncommon Goods, offer a paid subscription program with benefits like free shipping, donations to non-profit partners on your behalf, and members-only emails. 

Its program comes with a two-week free trial. Near the end of that free trial, the brand sends out an email with the subject line, “Reasons to stick with Uncommon Perks.” The email lists the different benefits of the program. If you have a program like this, consider a similar email campaign. 

Add-on sales and product recommendations

Do you sell other items that would enhance the customer’s experience with what they already bought? They might not have seen the need before (in an upsell or cross-sell attempt), but now with the product in hand, they may be ready to buy.

Loyalty program invites

If you have a loyalty program and the first-time customer hasn’t joined it yet, now could be a great time to pull them in.

A tool like LoyaltyLion will come in handy here.

How to set this up 

If your ecommerce site is built on Shopify, BigCommerce, or Adobe Commerce, check out the links below for how to set up different email notifications powered by automation. 

• Shopify post-purchase email setup 
• BigCommerce post-purchase email setup
• Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) post-purchase email setup

4) Deliver important how-to and use case content

If the product you’re selling requires some setup or assembly or has features that go beyond the basics, one form of post-purchase communication you’ll want to focus on is tutorial-style content. You want to show customers how to use or set up their new product so they get the maximum benefit from it.

Explain the importance of content that can show customers how to properly use or set up your product or even creative alternative ways to do things with your product — both because this is helpful for customers and because this effortless experience tends to reduce returns and lead to loyal customers who make repeat purchases.

For example, D2C ecommerce retailer Bug Bite Thing offers one primary product: a plastic suction contraption that reduces the severity of stings and bites, including from mosquitoes. Unless you’ve used their exact product, you’ve probably never seen anything similar. The company sends an excellent tutorial email to all customers and features clear instructions with custom GIFs that show exactly what to do with the thing.

https://youtu.be/jWPgoeDSDYM

Tutorial videos, use cases, explainers, or links to FAQs can be helpful while the customer is waiting for the item to arrive or as the customer is learning about the item. 

When you should do this 

Send out tutorial information after the item ships and before the item gets delivered. 

If you're not getting a lot of traction on email, or you want to make sure that customers see your setup guide, include an insert with a QR code that links to a setup video or blog post on your website. 

This is another good lever for physical, good ecommerce brands to have a touch point in the actual physical product that they’re sending since not everyone opens their emails. 

How to set this up 

Share product-specific how-to content via links to your Help Center to find set-up and troubleshooting information for their new product. 

For example, Brümate created a handy Help Center with help from Gorgias that customers can visit to get all of the information they need.  

5) Provide a simple returns and exchanges portal

Having to return an item is already frustrating on its own. So if your brand complicates the returns process further, it will discourage people from shopping with you again. 

Instead, start by listing your refund policy clearly on your website. Then, create an easy, self-service return portal where folks can easily initiate a return or exchange. 

How to set this up 

Loop Returns is one of the best tools for ecommerce returns management, and it integrates with Help Desks like Gorgias. 

For example, jewelry shop Jaxxon uses Loop to facilitate an easy returns process and push exchanges over returns. 

6) Follow up a purchase with rewards, referral, and loyalty programs

If you have a loyalty program, the post-purchase timeframe is the perfect time to plug it. You’ll get your brand back in front of eyeballs while impressions are still fresh, and if you can get them to sign up now, you’ll turn more existing customers into long-term fans.

If you don’t have a loyalty program, consider starting one. eMarketer found that 58.7% of internet users indicated loyalty points or rewards as one of the aspects of retail shopping they valued most.

Loyalty program or not, you can also send discounts, incentives, or rewards during this period, sweetening the pot for a second purchase and producing an even better post-purchase customer experience.

Loyalty programs are ubiquitous these days, from the loyalty punch card (or app-based version) at your local coffee shop to paid VIP programs like what Uncommon Goods offers with Uncommon Perks.

When you should do this 

If someone has ordered from you multiple times or filled out a CSAT or NPS survey that scored high, it’s a great time to invite them to join your loyalty program. 

“You're catching that person at a point where they're feeling really energized about the brand,” says Bri. 

How to set this up 

LoyaltyLion is a great tool that makes setting up a loyalty program a breeze. It also integrates with Help Desks like Gorgias, so your support team can keep an eye on how your loyalty members are doing.  

Growave is another great tool that can help you manage referral programs to bring new shoppers to your store and improve conversion rates thanks to social proof — or in other words, turning more browsers into buyers because their friends vouch for your brand.

7) Provide plenty of opportunities for feedback (and ask directly)

According to Bright Local’s Consumer Review Survey, 94% of consumers are more likely to use a business because of positive reviews. 

“You're catching that person at a point where they're feeling really energized about the brand”

— Bri Christiano, Director of Support at Gorgias 

The more feedback you get, the more you can act on it, which can improve the customer experience and lead to more positive reviews. 

When you should do this 

Request customer feedback a few days after a product gets delivered to see if they liked it. This can be in the form of a quick NPS survey or a request for a public product review on your website. And once you get those reviews, spread them far and wide! We love how prominently Loop Earplugs features customer reviews:

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After a support interaction, you can send out a CSAT (customer satisfaction) survey to collect feedback about the support experience. 

📚Recommended reading: How to collect and implement customer feedback from your helpdesk.

How to set this up 

A customer service platform like Gorgias can help you automate sending these surveys after every single interaction:

You can solicit feedback and reviews with automated email campaigns, chatbots, human chat agents, or an SMS campaign.

Review tools like Yotpo can also help. If you use a Help Desk like Gorgias, Yotpo integrates with it to make it easy to collect feedback and respond to negative or positive reviews easily. 

8) Invite customers to join your brand communities

If your brand has any official online communities, the post-purchase period is the perfect time to invite customers to join. Doing so can build up greater customer loyalty by building a sense of connection. 

If customers are engaged in a community, they're more likely to stay longer, both in the community and as customers. Communities also can help people answer questions or solve problems. 

Nearly half of businesses that had online communities saw between 10 and 25% savings in customer support costs. Customers got their answers from communities instead.

For example, Instant Pot is a well-known consumer brand that has leveraged the power of online communities to grow its brand. It has a large, active official Facebook group, and it’s active on other social spaces too. Additionally, the brand has managed to get its product mentioned on all sorts of mommy blogs, cooking and recipe sites, and more.

When you should do this 

After a purchase, send an email or drip series that invites customers to follow you on social media or join your community. Consider offering an incentive within that, like 15% off their next order. 

How to set this up 

Online communities can take shape on social media or on community or collaboration platforms like Slack and Discord. Choose whichever platform makes the most sense for your business. You can leverage your brand’s community to foster greater customer relationships and raise customer lifetime values.

9) Build an omnichannel support strategy to engage customers post-purchase

Many successful brands have moved to an omnichannel support strategy, one that’s customer-centric and delivers consistent help across all avenues where a customer might reach you. Helpdesks make omnichannel more feasible, as do back-end ecommerce platforms and systems that can sync experiences across all channels.

Social listening (tracking brand mentions and customer feedback) and customer support play an elevated role here. The goal is to ensure that no matter where your already-paying customers are, you can hear them and respond to their conversations.

When you should do this 

In terms of availability, you don’t need to be available 24/7, but you should always post your hours or automate a response to let customers know when they’ll hear back. 

In terms of proactive outreach, as with any post-purchase communication, think about the user experience and what timing makes the most sense for that user and your product. 

You might send an email thanking a customer for a positive review or send a text message once a product gets delivered. For example, pajama shop Printfresh sends a personalized text message to see if customers liked their purchase or need support a few days after it’s been delivered. 

How to set this up 

A centralized help desk like Gorgias makes setting up and maintaining an omnichannel support experience easy for you and your customer support team. 

These tools pull in customer information from different locations like social media, SMS, email, your ecommerce platform (like Shopify or BigCommerce), and other ecommerce tools (like Yotpo and Klaviyo) into one central place, so you can see any and all interactions with a customer from within their profile. 

Why the post-purchase experience is important

The post-purchase experience is a crucial time for customer relationship building: it affects customer retention and can set you apart from your competition. Creating a positive post-purchase experience has many benefits, including reducing customer confusion, nurturing customers to make repeat purchases, and reducing support tickets. 

1) Reduce customer confusion

As a brand, you can make the customer experience smoother and eliminate guesswork for shoppers. Offer information proactively so customers don’t have to panic and wonder whether: 

• They ordered the right item to the right address
• The product will arrive on time
• They can return the product if they don’t love it

This is the primary benefit of a solid post-purchase experience because customers won’t return to a store that left them confused, frustrated, and sending a hundred questions to customer support. 

Like it or not, giant ecommerce brands like Amazon have trained customers to expect lots of information automatically, and keeping pace is in your brand’s best interest. 

2)  Nurture the customer to win repeat purchases

According to our research, repeat customers generate 300% more revenue than first-time customers do. And with the rising costs of acquisition, especially via paid advertising, this is crucial for your business. 

A smooth customer service experience, plus follow-up marketing, promotions, self-service resources, and other value-adds (like a customer community) help turn first-time shoppers into loyal customers. 

3) Reduce the number of questions your customers ask support 

While fielding questions from customers isn’t a bad thing, forcing new customers to write to your support team for basic information creates a more high-effort experience. 

Those high-effort experiences can ruin relationships. The Effortless Experience found that 96% of these customers lose their loyalty to customers after putting in high levels of effort to get help. 

Plus, your team probably has more important conversations to get to. If you spend all day answering WISMO tickets, you won’t have time to offer product recommendations, update your Help Center, or experiment with new chat campaigns. 

Your post-purchase flow provides a great opportunity to proactively answer customer questions without having to wait for a live person on the other end. You can also create self-service resources like FAQ pages and knowledge bases that share pertinent policies (like return policies or shipping times). 

Building the best post-purchase experience starts with Gorgias

While a post-purchase experience entails more than just customer support and helpdesk services, you can’t build a top-quality post-purchase experience without these crucial functions.

Gorgias is the world’s best helpdesk and customer service platform for ecommerce businesses. It was built specifically for ecommerce and has the features, integrations, and flexibility you need to create the best possible post-purchase experience.

Learn more about how Gorgias helps ecommerce brands streamline support, improve CX, and drive revenue in the video below:

See more about what Gorgias can do and sign up for free today!

Once your ecommerce business starts attracting a large number of customers, keeping up with order fulfillment can quickly become a full-time job. 

For most brands, ecommerce shipping is a significant expense and time-suck. The average cost to fulfill an online order amounts to 70% of the order's value, according to eFulfillment Service. 

At the same time, customer expectations regarding shipping management and order fulfillment have only grown more demanding, with 96% of customers now defining "fast delivery" as same-day delivery, according to Invesp. Not to mention the new normal of free shipping. (Thanks, Amazon.)

It is also worth noting that, according to Pitney Bowes, 54% of customers will shop with a retailer less often or never again after a negative delivery experience.

The good news is that there are plenty of great shipping software solutions designed to help you optimize your customer experience and make order fulfillment less of an expensive hassle. To help you choose the best shipping software for your online store, we'll discuss what to look for in shipping management software before diving into the 12 best shipping software tools for ecommerce stores available today.

Top ecommerce shipping software for your online store

1. ShipBob
2. LateShipment.com
3. AfterShip
4. Shipup
5. ShippingChimp
6. Wonderment
7. NetSuite
8. 2Ship
9. Shippo
10. Essential Hub
11. Shopify Shipping
12. ShipStation

If you are searching for shipping software solutions that will help make your online business more efficient and profitable, there are plenty of great tools to choose from. Below, we’ve compiled 12 of the best shipping software tools on the market today, including their customer review score from G2:

1) ShipBob: 3.3 ⭐(68 reviews)

If you would like to take the hassle of order fulfillment and inventory management off of your hands entirely, partnering with ShipBob is a great option. ShipBob is a third-party logistics (3PL) company that enables ecommerce store owners to ship their products — in bulk — directly to ShipBob's warehouses. From there, ShipBob takes over all inventory management and order fulfillment services, including picking and packing, shipping orders to customers, carrier routing, managing returns, and everything in between.

📚Recommended reading: Our comparison of ShipBob and Shopify Fulfillment Network. 

Pros

• Easy to set up and use thanks to a comprehensive onboarding process
• Completely eliminates your order fulfillment responsibilities
• Provides an information-packed help center for mastering the platform and resolving common issues on your own

Cons

• Customer service issues are unfortunately common
• Very expensive
• Order returns sometimes go missing

Key features

• Allows you to choose between a variety of shippers, including FedEx, DHL, UPS, and USPS
• Integrates with all major ecommerce platforms
• Allows you to strategically split your inventory across multiple locations for faster shipping services

Pricing options

ShipBob requires you to contact them for a custom pricing quote.

🔌 See how ShipBob integrates with Gorgias. 

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2) LateShipment.com (no G2 reviews)

LateShipment.com allows you to create a branded post-purchase experience for your customers. This tool makes it easy to create customized tracking pages and tracking widgets for your website, as well as pages and widgets for processing order returns. LateShipment.com also provides real-time shipment tracking information and a wealth of other valuable data that you can use to optimize your shipping management process.

Fun fact: LateShipment.com is also on our list of the best returns management software. 

Pros

• Includes 24/7 customer support and a dedicated customer success manager with every plan
• Offers a 21-day free trial
• Delivers a wealth of actionable insights that a business owner can use to improve their order management and fulfillment process

Cons

• Does not allow you to print shipping labels
• Requires you to combine multiple plans to unlock all features
• Does not offer a flat-rate plan

Key features

• Provides predictive alerts for shipments that are likely to encounter delays
• Makes it easy to create customized SMS and email shipment notifications
• Allows you to drive repeat purchases by turning your tracking pages into marketing opportunities

Pricing options

• Parcel Audit and Shipping Refunds Plan - 35% of refunds claimed
• Delivery Experience and Management Plan - $0.07 per shipment tracked
• Returns Experience Management Plan - $7/month plus $0.35 per return

🔌 See how LateShipment.com integrates with Gorgias. 

3) AfterShip: 4.2 ⭐(49 reviews)

AfterShip is a shipping solution that provides insightful real-time tracking data for all of your store's orders via a centralized, user-friendly dashboard. The biggest selling point of AfterShip is the fact that it allows you to create branded tracking pages and shipment notifications.

📚Recommended reading: Our guide to post-purchase experience to help you provide the best ecommerce experience possible, from checkout to repeat purchase.

Pros

• Capable of integrating with a wide range of ecommerce platforms
• Enables you to track both purchases and returns
• Easy to set up and use

Cons

• Customer support issues have been reported
• Tracking information is not always up to date with courier's tracking data
• Limited integrations with other ecommerce software tools

Key features

• Allows you to create automated post-purchase workflows
• Provides actionable insights into your post-purchase experience and shipping methods

Pricing options

• Free plan - $0/month for up to 50 shipments/month
• Essentials plan - $9/month for up to 1,200 shipments/year
• Pro plan - $199/month for up to 60,000 shipments/year
• Enterprise plan - custom pricing for 300,000+ shipments/year

🔌 See how AfterShip integrates with Gorgias. 

4) Shipup: 4.4 ⭐ (18 reviews)

Shipup is a shipping platform that provides three key features: create branded real-time tracking notifications and tracking pages, receive alerts about delays or delivery incidents sent straight to your existing CRM, and receive a range of useful analytics that you can use to improve your company's shipping process.

Pros

• Long list of integrations with other ecommerce software tools, including Gorgias
• Intuitive and customizable dashboard
• Easy to set up and use

Cons

• Does not allow you to print shipping labels
• Does not offer any inventory management solutions
• Pricing is expensive compared to similar shipping options

Key features

• Attractive and customizable email notification and tracking page templates
• Allows you to display product recommendations in your shipping update emails

Pricing options

• Starter plan - €0.18/package plus €181/month
• Pro plan - €399/month
• Enterprise plan - custom pricing

🔌 See how Shipup integrates with Gorgias. 

5) ShippingChimp (no G2 reviews)

Like many order fulfillment software solutions, ShippingChimp lets you create branded tracking notifications and tracking pages. It also allows you to track the status of all your shipments from a user-friendly dashboard. In addition to these features and its ease of use, what really sets ShippingChimp apart is the fact that it provides store owners with a customizable self-service returns portal for facilitating customer returns.

Pros

• Excellent customer support
• Offers a 30-day free trial
• Provides a wealth of analytics, including CSAT scores for gauging customer loyalty

Cons

• App is sometimes prone to freezing
• Does not allow you to print shipping labels
• Does not offer any inventory management solutions

Key features

• Provides customers with automated and branded shipment updates
• Allows you to forecast delivery exceptions
• Streamlines the order return process by providing customers with a self-service returns portal

Pricing options

• Basic plan - $19/month for up to 500 shipments/month
• Pro plan - $99/month for up to 2,000 shipments/month
• Premium plan - $199/month for up to 5,000 shipments/month
• Enterprise plan - custom pricing available upon request

6) Wonderment (no G2 reviews)

Wonderment is a post-purchase shipping platform designed to help you reduce "Where is my order?" tickets by providing customers with automated order updates. In addition to sending automated shipping updates via email and SMS, Wonderment also provides order lookup and reporting that includes a daily digest of stalled, delayed, and lost orders.

Pros

• Integrates with Klaviyo for fully-branded and customizable shipping update emails
• Makes it easy to send automated shipping updates via SMS
• Completely free for stores with less than 500 orders/month

Cons

• Does not allow you to print shipping labels
• Dedicated support and onboarding comes at the additional cost of $.04/shipment
• Only capable of integrating with Shopify stores

Key features

• Allows you to create automated shipment update workflows
• Easy to use dashboard makes it simple for your team to keep track of shipping incidents

Pricing options

• Starter plan - $0/month for up to 500 shipments/month
• Premium plan - $100/month for up to 4,000 shipments/month
• Premium Plus plan - $100/month plus $.04/shipment for 4,000+ shipments/month

🔌 See how Wonderment integrates with Gorgias.

7) NetSuite: 3.9 ⭐ (2,207 reviews)

Netsuite offers a wide range of ecommerce software solutions. For the purposes of shipping and fulfillment, it is Netsuite's multichannel order management solution that you want.

Netsuite's multichannel order management solution enables you to execute multiple order fulfillment and inventory management tasks across your supply chain from a single dashboard, including direct shipping products from a warehouse and placing purchase orders to ship to various warehouses.

Pros

• Provides complete inventory visibility across multiple warehouses, 3PLs, and suppliers
• Supports complex processes such as split shipments, continuity programs, dropshipping, personalized products, and digital fulfillment
• Highly customizable

Cons

• Some features require varying levels of coding to install
• Though pricing is custom, Netsuite products are generally quite expensive
• Occasional performance issues

Key features

• Capable of automating the end-to-end order lifecycle
• Provides a single-pane-of-glass view of your entire inventory
• Automatically fulfills orders from the most economically-located warehouse

Pricing options

Netsuite's multichannel order management solution is included with a Netsuite license. The price of a Netsuite license is only available upon request.

🔌 See how NetSuite integrates with Gorgias. 

8) 2Ship: 4.5 ⭐ (13 reviews)

2Ship is a shipping software solution designed to help ecommerce stores lower their shipping costs by comparing prices across carriers. Along with making it easy to find the best rates for each product you ship, 2Ship also provides tracking updates and the ability to print shipping labels.

Pros

• A wide variety of pricing plans to choose from
• Great customer support
• Capable of integrating with a variety of ecommerce tools and platforms

Cons

• Some carriers are not listed
• Can be a little slow to load
• A little confusing to set up

Key features

• Allows you to compare rates, choose carriers, and print shipping labels from a single dashboard
• Provides tracking data and analytics reports

Pricing options

2Ship offers a long list of pricing options, ranging from $10/month for up to 10 shipments/month to $449/month for up to 5,000 shipments/month.

9) Shippo: 3.9 ⭐ (44 reviews)

With Shippo, ecommerce store owners can manage orders across multiple sales channels from a single dashboard. You can:

• Create discounted shipping labels and packing slips by comparing rates across shipping carriers (like USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL Express)
• Track shipments and notify customers about the status of their order
• Automatically generate labels for returned products to streamline the returns process

Pros

• Easy to set up and use
• Offers both flat-rate and per-shipment pricing plans
• Capable of integrating with a wide range of ecommerce tools and platforms

Cons

• Slow customer support
• Does not provide a mobile app
• UI has room for enhancements

Key features

• Batch processing allows you to process multiple shipping labels with a single click
• Allows you to create customized and automated shipping update notifications

Pricing options

• Starter plan - $0/month and $.05/shipment
• Professional plan - $10/month
• Premier plan - Custom pricing available upon request

10) Essential Hub: (no G2 reviews)

Essential Hub is a shipping API designed to connect your shopping carts and warehouse technology in order to search for the best rates across shippers and automate order fulfillment processes with automation rules. Best of all, the API is customized and set up on your behalf based on a thorough analysis of your store's existing order fulfillment process.

Pros

• Done-for-you implementation including an analysis of your shipments and volume
• Implements rate shopping and customized automation rules
• U.S.-based customer support available via phone, text, email, and video-conferencing
• Integrates with 200+ ecommerce tools and platforms

Cons

• Essential Hub's onboarding process is not as thorough as it probably should be
• Downloading orders and addresses can only be done from an admin account
• Issues with the software not printing all of the labels in a batch have been reported

Key features

• Multi-carrier rate shopping for both domestic and international shipping with custom forms
• Automation rules for streamlining your order fulfillment process

Pricing options

Custom pricing is available upon request

11) Shopify Shipping (no G2 reviews)

Shopify Shipping is an app that comes included with a Shopify subscription. With this app, Shopify store owners can access discounts on USPS, DHL, and UPS shipping rates, buy and print shipping labels within their Shopify store, and fulfill orders from the same dashboard used to manage products, customers, and inventory.

Shopify Shipping also simplifies the process of paying for shipping by allowing you to pay shipping costs from the same statement as your monthly Shopify subscription.

Pros

• Comes included and pre-installed with a Shopify subscription
• Allows you to pay for shipping costs and your Shopify subscription in a single bill
• Provides a user-friendly dashboard for order fulfillment and tracking

Cons

• Only available for Shopify stores
• Bulk-printing labels is limited to 20 labels at a time
• Can only be used to ship products to the USA or Canada

Key features

• Allows you to search real-time shipping rates and discounts before printing shipping labels directly from your Shopify store
• Provides detailed order fulfillment analytics
• Allows you to track packages directly from your Shopify store

Pricing options

Shopify Shipping comes included with a Shopify subscription, which starts at $29/month.

📚Recommended reading: Our list of the best 40+ Shopify apps for ecommerce brands. 

12) ShipStation: 4.3 ⭐ (259 reviews)

With ShipStation, ecommerce store owners can import orders from over 100+ sales channels, marketplaces, ERPs, or CRMs. You can also utilize barcode scan-based workflows, bulk updates, and automated rules to streamline the order fulfillment process, compare shipping rates and print labels, and automatically provide customers with tracking numbers when their orders ship.

Pros

• Easy to set up and use
• Offers a wide range of integrations
• Excellent reporting and analytics

Cons

• Sometimes prone to technical hiccups
• Live chat support is not available on the Starter plan
• Accommodates international shipping but does not allow you to print international return labels

Key features

• Enables you to import orders from multiple sales channels
• Compares rates across shipping providers and gives you the option for bulk label printing
• Streamlines the order fulfillment process via bulk updates, automation rules, and scan-based workflows

Pricing options

ShipStation offers six different pricing plans, starting at $9/month for a Starter plan that offers 50 shipments/month, and going up to an Enterprise plan that costs $159/month for up to 10,000 shipments/month

🔌See how ShipStation integrates with Gorgias. 

What to look for when purchasing shipping software

When comparing shipping software options, there are several important factors to consider. Some of the most valuable features to look for in software designed to assist with order management and fulfillment include:

Integrates seamlessly with your other software tools

Choosing shipping software that integrates with your online store’s other software is highly beneficial. Shipping software that integrates with your email marketing software, for example, makes it easy to send branded shipping update emails. 

Similarly, software that integrates with your customer support software can make it much simpler to manage customer issues regarding order fulfillment. Most shipping software is cloud-based, and integrates with a wide variety of software. But, it’s worth the extra research to see whether they integrate with your ecommerce tech stack.

Below, we’ll share whenever a shipping tool integrates with Gorgias to save you the extra search. 

Allows real-time tracking of customer orders

The ability to track orders in real-time is one of the most important capabilities to look for in shipping software. Real-time order tracking allows you to better manage the order fulfillment process on your end and provides your customers with timely shipping updates. 

If you would like to create a shipping process that will help ensure a positive customer experience then real-time order tracking is a great place to start.

However, you don’t need . If you use Gorgias, Automate lets customers track orders within your chat widget and Help Center — no shipping software needed.

📚Recommended reading: Learn how to provide real-time order tracking to customers (and avoid answering WISMO requests). 

Assists with label printing

Even for small businesses, filling out shipping information by hand for each product sold is often far too time-consuming to be a feasible management system. This becomes next to impossible for high-volume stores. 

Thankfully, many shipping software tools allow you to choose a carrier and print shipping labels from within the platform. Some tools allow you to print return labels as well, ensuring that you never have to worry about creating shipping labels manually.

Integrates with your ecommerce platform of choice

Along with choosing shipping software that integrates with all of the other tools that your ecommerce business relies on, it is also essential to choose software that integrates well with your ecommerce platform — like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, or Magento.

For example, the best shipping software for Magento stores isn't always going to be the best software for Shopify or eBay other ecommerce platforms. Before you purchase a shipping software solution, you want to be sure that it deeply and easily integrates with your ecommerce platform for optimum functionality.

Provides assistance with inventory management

Order fulfillment is not the only task that great shipping software can help with. With the right tools, an ecommerce business can also streamline and automate its inventory management process. 

Purchasing shipping software designed to assist with inventory management means that your inventory is automatically updated each time an order is placed, helping you keep track of your available supply. This is also a helpful way to prevent products from going out of stock.

Manage your shipping and customer service with Gorgias

From helping you compare shipping rates across carriers and print shipping labels to creating branded order tracking pages, purchasing shipping software solutions can provide your online store with a number of advantages.

At Gorgias, we recognize the immense value of these shipping software solutions. We have designed our comprehensive customer service platform to seamlessly integrate with a large number of popular shipping tools, making it easy for you to manage and resolve customer issues regarding order fulfillment. 

To see how Gorgias can help you upgrade your shipping and customer service alike, be sure to check out this link to learn more about all that Gorgias has to offer!

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