BigCommerce has quickly become a well-known ecommerce platform—it’s currently used by nearly 50,000 live online stores worldwide! The user-friendly layout, the great customer support, competitive pricing, and easy customization has made it a top contender for retailers globally. 

But the aesthetics and functionality of the platform is only the first step to building a successful eCommerce store. Once you’ve created your storefront, it’s critical to develop a seamless shipping strategy. Whether you’re offering 2-day shipping, free shipping, or any other competitive shipping option, it’s crucial to have a streamlined shipping experience. This can help boost your average order value (AOV), decrease cart abandonment, improve customer experience, and more.

In this guide, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about shipping in BigCommerce—from how to set it up and BigCommerce shipping options to why it’s so important to get right.

What is the Role of BigCommerce in Shipping and Fulfillment?

Currently, nearly 50,000 live online stores are running on the BigCommerce platform. Within the platform, retailers are able to:

• Build and run online stores remotely
• Display and promote goods or services
• Track and manage inventory
• Create and print labels for shipping
• Estimate shipping costs
• Create, track, and manage customer orders
• Personalize content and customer messages
• Integrate with other third-party apps
• Provide customer support

This is only the beginning of what retailers can do on the platform. It’s a great tool for sellers who don’t have a lot of website design experience as BigCommerce is incredibly intuitive and user-friendly. 

In terms of shipping, you have tons of options. BigCommerce partners with a number of big name shipping providers, including Amazon, Route, FedEx, USPS, ShipStation, and more, so you can provide your customers with the shipping methods they want. 

The platform also offers a huge list of delivery options so you can choose the best, most cost-effective method for your specific needs. Choose from methods like:

• Free shipping
• Flat rate
• Fixed rate
• Ship by weight or order total
• Pickup in store

But before you advertise shipping options, make sure to think about how you’re going to handle order fulfillment. For most, the option comes down to either doing it yourself or outsourcing to a fulfillment partner.

Self-fulfillment

If you’re just starting out with eCommerce, a self-fulfillment shipping strategy might be the best shipping setup for you. In this case, you do all the inventory management and packing yourself. This does mean you’ll spend a lot of valuable time packing boxes, estimating shipping costs, and making trips to the post office, but you do have a lot more control over the shipping process. You’ll also want to have a strategy around managing your inventory so you’re not constantly running out of supplies.

Outsourced Shipping

As your store grows, you’ll spend more and more time shipping orders—to the point where you won’t be able to keep up. This is when you should outsource shipping to a reliable third-party logistics (3PL) company. Most of these companies have the time and resources needed to offer competitive shipping so you can stay focused on growing your business.

If you’re already at this point, skip the self-fulfillment strategy altogether and start looking for a 3PL partner. You’ll save yourself a lot of time around order management and fulfillment by doing so.

BigCommerce Shipping Integration Options

One of the best parts about the BigCommerce app is that it’s designed to meet your basic shipping options. And with its high customization and huge Apps Marketplace, you can really build a fulfillment strategy that meets your specific needs—at every stage of the customer journey.

Here’s just a few examples:

Pay with Affirm

Today’s customers favor digital payments more than ever and expect to have a number of payment options online. Just last year, 38% of retailers expanded their digital payment options and more than half of merchants (53%) expect to add more by the end of 2022.

One of the latest payment options that customers are loving is Affirm. The app allows shoppers to buy now and pay off those purchases in a fixed monthly payment. BigCommerce integrates directly with the app which means you can not only meet customer expectations, but also boost your average order value and expand your customer base.

Chat Using LiveChat

Your customers expect to have fast, easy access to support—anytime, anywhere, and from any device. One of the easiest ways to provide that 24/7 support on your BigCommerce site is with the LiveChat integration.

Once it’s set up, you can provide instant support to your customers. You can also get a real-time view of their cart, previous and current orders, integrate with email and social media apps, and more. With this integration, you and your customers have peace of mind knowing they can contact you anytime, anywhere.

Fulfillment and product protection with Route

Your post-purchase experience is one of the most important aspects of your customer journey—and your customers expect it to be seamless. The good news is that it doesn’t take much effort to provide the transparency and proactive communication your customers expect.

With Route, you can optimize your BigCommerce purchase experience with tools like real-time order tracking, package protection, and genuine customer engagement. The app allows you to take back control of shipping with third party carriers by covering costs for lost, stolen, or damaged packages. Your shoppers can also track the entire delivery process—from checkout all the way to delivery. 

These are just a few of the integrations available in the App Marketplace. You’ll find virtually everything you need to provide streamlined shipping within the huge library.

How to Set Up Shipping on BigCommerce

Shipping setup in BigCommerce is really easy and can be done in a matter of minutes. To get it up and running, follow these steps:

1. Go to ‘Store Setup’ and select ‘Shipping’.

2. Next, select ‘Set Up Shipping’ and enter your shipping origin address

Make sure all your information is updated and correct as it will affect your shipping rates and which carriers are available to you.

3. Once finished, select ‘Next’. Your shipping address will now appear on all your shipping labels.

4. Next, you’ll want to input your shipping zones—which regions and postal codes your BigCommerce shop will ship to. 

5. Next, you’ll select your shipping methods. These are the ones that will appear in your customers’ cart during the checkout process.

Once you’ve entered your shipping preferences, you’ll see real-time quotes from delivery companies that you can connect with.

6. Finally, select ‘Done’ to save your preferences.

That’s it! Your BigCommerce shipping options are all set up and ready to go.

Why Use Package Protection with BigCommerce Shipping?

eCommerce giants like Amazon, Target, and Walmart have changed the game when it comes to shipping. In addition to providing same- or next-day delivery, the companies provide package protection. This ensures that customers’ orders are protected from theft or damage during the shipping process. 

In the past, order protection was reserved only for big retailers, but now with companies like Route, even small companies can offer the service. By including this value-adding service on your BigCommerce shop, you show your customers that you care about their experience. This in turn helps to build customer loyalty and boost shoppers’ intentions to buy.

One study found that by offering extended warranties, customers’ intent to buy increased by 25% on average. Another source found that a seamless, positive claims experience resulted in a higher customer lifetime value and a higher probability of customer’s purchasing more products.
With the extended warranty market expected to reach nearly $170 billion by 2027, the trend is clear—customers want package protection. That makes it a critical aspect of your BigCommerce store.

Why Use Route’s Integration with BigCommerce?

Setting up a BigCommerce store is a great way to break into the eCommerce industry. With its easy customization, intuitive interface, and numerous integrations, you can build a truly unique online storefront that keeps customers coming back for more.

And by integrating your BigCommerce store with Route, you can further boost customer loyalty and satisfaction, and maybe even offer free shipping. From real-time order tracking to package protection, you’ll give customers confidence and peace of mind knowing they’ll be taken care of after checkout. Route provides package protection across a number of platforms, including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and more. 

With Route, you can easily resolve customer problems, fix order problems, and reduce support costs. Learn more about Route, the best shipping insurance available, by contacting a representative or requesting a free demo today.

BigCommerce Shipping Options FAQs