Cons of Flat Shipping Charges

Even with the progression of technology many customers still think twice to shop online due to security breaches. Making online shopping easy for the user by offering flexible payments options, reasonable shipping modes, user-friendly website makes them trust your brand to some extent.

Customers decide to purchase a product after thinking hard on the total product costs. After your product has successfully cleared the pricing hurdle, the customer now orders your product.

But wait! Why did the customer abandon the cart in checkout page!

What made your happy customer walk away from your store with dissatisfaction?

Researches have revealed that the major cause for the cart abandonment is due to the shipping rates furnished by the sellers. Customers are very particular about to the price they pay to buy anything online. If they reckon that the shipping cost for that product is not feasible then the likelihood of them passing to the next step of the purchase drops down.

Determining the shipping rates is one of the biggest pain points for any seller. The seller has to first accurately analyze which all shipping methods suits his business and to his customers. You can offer shipping solutions like free shipping, flat rate shipping, standard shipping, priority shipping etc.. Flat rate shipping is one of the best ways to provide shipping services to your customer as it gives clear conception for the customers beforehand on the cost which they will be spending for shipping so that they are staggered by noticing the shipping rates and dropout in checkout. In short, flat rate shipping is when the customers pay the equivalent shipping rate for all the products regardless of the parcels weight, dimensions etc..

Flat rates can be a super hit when the products which you are selling is of similar weight and cost. This can also backfire your business if you are shipping heavyweight products at a cheaper shipping rate. Hence it is crucial to know the drawbacks of flat rate shipping before implementing it.

Below are the few disadvantages of flat rate shipping.

1. Higher Transit Time:

Every customer fancies that their ordered products  reach their hands in a shorter span of time. If you are offering flat rate shipping price then, there is no other option to choose apart from the surface mode in order to avoid loss. This will result in a longer transit time which may annoy the customers.

2. Avoid Undercharging

Before jumping into any decision on the shipping options which you will be catering to your customers, interpret which mode of shipping will make you and your customer happy. Make sure that the flat rate which you offer does not incur a loss to your business.

3. Not available for all destinations

One of the biggest limitations of flat rate shipping is that this service cannot be extended to the customers who are located at a remote destination. Since the shipping charges increase with distance, providing them flat rate may result in the loss for the company as the seller has to bear the extra expenses incurred.

4. Easily comparable

Since the shipping rates are transparent and there are no extra fees in addition which makes it easier for the customers to compare your rates with other vendors, which may result in loss of customers.

5. Used only for smaller products

Shipping rate is generally calculated based on weight, dimension, and destination of the parcel. Hence offering flat rate shipping to customer is favored only for packages and products with lesser weight and dimension. Giving it for bigger products makes the seller's sales out of margin.

Make sure you strategize your shipping cost such that you don’t damage your product price and it is affordable to your customers as well. In addition, take your time in analyzing what shipping rates work for you and which is the best shipping solution you can render to your customer so that you don't end up damaging your business in the notion of making a profit.