eCommerce Shipping Upgrades: The new way to boost conversions and drive repeat business

Shipping Upgrade Rates

Are you currently offering shoppers a way to upgrade their chosen shipping method on your online store? 

Consider some key statistics from Fenix’s Delivery Operating System which provides some insight into shipping upgrades and customers’ delivery choices:

• Across the board we see customers upgrading their shipping options 12.5% of the time
• Toys & Game, and Baby & Toddler products receive the most frequent shipping upgrades, this is likely due to relation to birthday gifts and shower gifts
• In a/b tests, instances where the upgrade was less than 10% of the total cost, customers were willing to upgrade more frequently
• Upgrades occur least frequently for Electronics and Sports & Outdoor products, both categories on the whole offered fewer upgrade options

Sometimes your customers might want to swap a slower shipping method for a faster option, even if they have to pay extra costs. Your shipping upgrade rate tells you how often they do it while shopping on your online store while letting you see how much additional revenue you could be missing out on.

What are shipping upgrades?

A shipping upgrade is a situation in which a customer decides to swap their preferred shipping option for a faster one even if they have to pay additional shipping fees. 

For example, imagine that Ben has placed an order on your online store with free ground shipping, which means his order will arrive in a couple of days. But along the line, Ben decides he wants his shipment delivered faster. At that point, he can choose to upgrade his choice from ground shipping to expedited shipping.

The dilemma when making an upgrade lies in choosing between fast shipping or free shipping. And this raises a key question: “What do customers really want - FAST shipping or FREE shipping?”

If you want to learn more about how to drive shipping upgrades, how they impact customer satisfaction, and how you can address these issues, check out our latest guide on the metrics you should be tracking and how to address them.

(Link to Guide)

We’ve also prepared more guides on other crucial metrics you should be leveraging in order to deliver a flawless customer experience and increase conversions. Check them out below:

• Click to ship time
• Ship to delivery time
• Available shipping methods by category