While shipping is one of the most important aspects of any business, it can be a tedious task too. Buyers usually don’t want to spend extra on shipping charges as most people look for a free shipping tag when they shop online. But if that’s not available, they settle for a fixed shipping cost if it is reasonable. Therefore, flat rate shipping can help you sell more if you utilize it strategically. Let’s find out what flat rate shipping is and how it can be useful for your business.
What Is Flat Rate Shipping?
Flat Rate shipping is the shipping offered at a fixed rate irrespective of the size, weight, and dimensions of the shipment.
For example, if you are ordering 10 products from a website on one day and 50 on another, and pay 50 rupees for shipping both times, that means the company is offering you a flat rate for shipping your products.
How do you know it is a flat rate? Because if it wasn’t, you’d have paid more for shipping when you ordered 50 items.
How Does Flat Rate Shipping Work?
Flat rate shipping includes shipping at a particular rate up to a certain weight. Courier companies have slabs defined for flat rate shipping wherein you can ship at the same price for all packages that weigh a particular number.
For instance, Shiprocket’s courier partner FedEx offers flat rate shipping for weight slabs of 0.5 kg, 1 kg, 2 kg, and 10 kg.
Also, the flat rate varies according to zones. Most courier companies have their flat rate shipping costs decided for various weight slabs according to every zone. This means, Zone A and Zone C can have different flat rates for the same weight slabs.
Benefits Of Flat Rate Shipping
No hassles of constantly weighing products
When you ship products in bulk, packaging, and weighing can become a hassle as you need to keep in mind the volumetric weight when calculating the weight of the product. With flat rate shipping, you have slabs defined. Thus, you need to make sure your product lies in the range and not be specific about the weight.
Decreased shipping costs
With flat rate shipping, you also simplify your shipping costs as you stick with one fee for a particular zone. This way, your shipping costs don’t fluctuate, and you can efficiently strategize for future sales with a fixed shipping cost.
Attract more customers
When you offer a flat rate shipping cost on any number of products the customer purchases, customers are tempted to purchase more. Especially for people who want to buy products at a reasonable price, a fixed shipping rate can act as a marketing tactic to persuade them to buy more.
Reduced weight disputes
If you’re not paying according to the weight of every shipment, you avoid the complications of weight disputes. Flat rate shipping helps you avoid weighing errors and, thus, saves you from blocked funds and wastage of time.
Final Thoughts
With flat rate shipping being a viable option for your business, you can always give it a try. With shipping solutions like Shiprocket that offer you multiple shipping partners and courier recommendations, you don’t need to commit to a flat rate. You can use it for the shipments that require it. Once included in your strategy with a proper plan to support it, flat rate shipping can be an excellent option for your business.
