The fashion industry is one of the most dynamic industries in the world. Fashion trends change throughout the year and with that comes a variety of complexities, especially for ecommerce brands.
The past few years have been even more complex with a major supply shortage affecting the U.S, a global pandemic that drove more consumers to online shopping, and increased competition from other brands.
With all this complexity, one of the most important aspects to nail is the customer experience. And a huge part of that experience is the delivery. Apparel brands are being hit by record charges, unpredictable pricing changes, and capacity restrictions that decrease their ability to ship their products on time and in an economically efficient manner.
In this article, we break down the challenges that apparel brands are facing, and how X DeliveryTM can help solve them.
Here are the top five reasons why ecommerce apparel brands are switching to X Delivery.
Reason #1: A Predictable Pricing Structure
One of the biggest challenges of ecommerce fashion companies is unpredictable shipping costs. Large carriers often use zone-based pricing that changes depending on the geographic location of the customer and the zones that the package has to cross in order to get to its final destination.
This makes it virtually impossible for a brand to predict its shipping costs 30-60-90 days into the future. Another challenge is that during the holiday season, the high peak shopping months of October to January, large carriers raise their prices to match the demand. This leaves brands scrambling every year to lock in their rates and sign long-term contracts that end up costing more than the alternatives.
With X Delivery’s parcel shipping software, brands get to choose from a variety of smaller shipping carriers that offer fixed zoneless pricing. So no matter where the package is going, the brand will pay the same exact amount of money to ship it. And no fee hikes during the holidays.
Reason #2: Decreased Transit Time to 2-3 Days
One of the most coveted achievements in the world of fashion ecommerce is getting your delivery time down to 2-3 days. Research shows that nearly 44% of consumers expect 2-day delivery these days and that number is only going up. Amazon became one of the largest marketplaces in the world because of the expansive fulfillment network that allowed it to offer next-day and 2-day delivery for Amazon Prime members.
We’ve been able to do the same thing here at X Delivery. Our shipping technology is able to get delivery down to 2-3 days for each package. With delivery times this short, brands can finally compete with giants like Amazon.
Reason #3: No Capacity Restrictions
Another major challenge that apparel brands face is when their shipping carrier runs out of capacity. Ecommerce shipping, as we all know, spikes during the holiday season. And due to the increased demand, large carriers are often unable to deliver packages for a lot of brands.
We’ve seen that this past holiday season with what experts called the “Shippageddon” where the limited capacity of large carriers added to the existing supply crunch and resulted in a lot of brands being unable to ship their products out to customers.
And what could be more frustrating than having to cancel orders during the year’s busiest time? That’s why as the large shipping carriers are running out of capacity, apparel companies are switching to shipping software like X Delivery to find smaller shipping carriers and lock in that capacity before the holiday season starts.
Reason #4: Point-to-Point Delivery
Traditionally, much of modern retail used a system called hub-and-spoke, where merchandise had to be transferred to and stored at a warehouse before being shipped off to the customer. The new way of shipping products across the U.S is what’s called a point-to-point shipping system where the merchandise is sent directly to the customer, without first going to a central hub.
Point-to-point delivery has three main benefits.
1. Faster delivery times
Point-to-point shipping means increased flexibility to deliver parcels at a much smaller delivery window. Shipments don’t have to go through a central hub and instead are shipped directly to the customer’s doorstep, which invariably helps increase ecommerce sales for apparel brands.
2. Reduced costs
The hub and spoke market is dominated by large shipping carriers that are expensive and use zone-based pricing. The point-to-point shipping market is composed of smaller shipping carriers that have much smaller costs and are able to offer lower rates to apparel companies. In this scenario, everyone wins. The customer gets the package sooner and the retailer pays less for delivery.
3. Reduced carbon emissions
The third benefit of point-to-point delivery is that it’s shorter, doesn’t require a stopover, and thus saves on carbon emissions. It’s much better for the environment as well as financially beneficial for the retailer.
Now brands can reimagine delivery using X Delivery’s high-volume shipping API to find the perfect shipping carriers and take advantage of point-to-point delivery.
Reason #5: Transparent Tracking
Another challenge that brands face is inaccurate tracking information. This can cause a number of issues throughout the organization.
For example, let’s say a customer orders a product but doesn’t receive the correct tracking information. They have to reach out to the brand to see where the shipment got stuck.
The brand then has to call the shipping carrier and in many cases, they don’t have any information they could provide so the customer is told to wait a few days. This could also impact the relationship between the retailer and the marketplace they are using if they sell through third-party channels.
Having transparent shipping carrier tracking information at every point of the delivery process helps create a better user experience and saves money for the retailer on customer service costs.
Why Your Brand Should Make the Switch
Brands should use X Delivery’s shipping carrier tech to transform the way they do business. Fashion ecommerce companies need an ecommerce shipping solution that offers predictable pricing, better delivery times, and transparent tracking information for their customers.
Interested in trying out our shipping software and enjoying 2-day deliveries? Try out X Delivery today.