If you are creating an online store, or starting to scale your sales, using Shopify in New Zealand you have a range of shipping options and apps available to you.
Shopify shipping solutions enable you and your team to efficiently deliver products to your customers and streamline the the whole shipping process from check out to delivery.
There's quite a few shipping apps that are available to manage shipping, all with different types, levels and costs of services to suit a range of different businesses. The first step, before we compare shipping apps, is to be clear on what is important to your business or organisation.
For a lot of new Shopify businesses, shipping is somewhat of an afterthought at the beginning. The focus is on your store, your products, and your marketing, and the shipping is far less appealing. For more experienced Store owners, the importance of a good shipping service is usually more valued, due to past experience in trying to do things manually.
As you begin to grow, you'll appreciate just how much of a chore it can be to send your products off to customers. Done manually, it sucks up a lot of your time. And if you don’t have the costs sorted, it can suck up a lot of money, as well.
It's not just about product, getting your products out to customers quickly and cost effectively is a key part of the whole customer experience, and a happy customer is more likely to be a repeat customer.
Also, the shipping process, with good communication, provides you with a valuable opportunity to build relationships with your customers and grow your branding.
Even if you are only shipping a few items a week, take time now to think about how you can streamline your shipping before you need to scale up.
Here are some key things to consider when planning your Shopify shipping strategy:
Most businesses start by shipping everything manually. This means double-checking delivery addresses plus printing and attaching labels one by one. While this is achievable on a small scale, it’s still not the best use of your time at any scale. With a manual fulfilment process, there’s more chance of errors and delayed deliveries – and forget about scaling up, you'll need to switch in a hurry.
On the other hand, automation utilises technology to take the data from Shopify and transfer it automatically to your shipping company. It’s done by tools that integrate with your Shopify dashboard.
Automation provides a superior post-purchase and delivery experience for your customers. Instead of sending a generic tracking link that sends people to a courier website, you can customise the entire post-purchase customer journey.
Some of the shipping services also have a range of communications that you can customise. Automation tools allow you to send updates and notifications at each stage of delivery. Even better, these notification emails or pages can be branded to your business, strengthening your brand and growing that customer relationship.
It’s never too early to consider automation when shipping. While you may start paying more, before you have many sales, consider it an investment in your business as automation tools save you time and money, reduce errors, and are infinitely scalable.
If you visit the Shopify App Store and search for 'shipping' you'll see literally over a hundred different apps and tools. Some of these have advanced features, or are specific to a particular type of store or country. So we're just going to focus on the key apps that are available, matching up to key NZ courier and delivery services.
Here's some of the most popular Shopify shipping solutions used in New Zealand, Starshipit, DHL and eShip. All are integrated shipping and tracking tools that work perfectly with Shopify.
Although there are similarities, these tools aren’t identical. Here are the key differences.
Starshipit is a shipping and fulfilment app that helps retailers save time and deliver great shipping experiences. It integrates seamlessly with all major couriers including NZ Post, Aramex and DHL Express as well as Australia Post and others overseas. It can:
Prices start from $35 USD per month (at time of writing).
Offers a free 30 day trial
With eShip, automatically sync all your orders and quote shipments with their rates or your own shipping accounts (i.e. your own courier). Manage all of your shipping on one platform in real time with features like branded tracking page, email and text notifications, client ratings and return requests.
Price is FREE for the app, but other costs may apply
The lowdown is that eShip doesn't offer live rates at Check out, it can't be used within Shopify Admin and only offer NZ Post in New Zealand. so while it doesn't have anywhere near the same features as Starshipit, its free, which is a major advantage.
The official DHL Express Commerce App helps you expand globally by simplifying and automating international shipping. Improve customer experience by displaying live shipping rates at checkout. Save time with batch printing of labels and advanced shipping workflows.
Price is FREE. This app is really just a way to integrate your DHL account into Shopify.
The lowdown is that if you're happy with your DHL account and rates, this is a great app to use it and print labels etc for your Shopify products.
To use Aramex with Shopify, you can use Starshipit, or you can use a 'Ship Marvel' widget, you can view more information on their website. There is an Aramex shipping app listed on Shopify. Aramex is really popular courier in NZ, but the app at this point in time has some poor reviews.
Note, we haven't tested either the Ship Marvel widget or the Aramex app, but pointing out they are available to try.
These tools offer a range of delivery options and prices at checkout and have options to streamline your delivery admin within Shopify, brand your notifications, and provide great customer service, whether you’re delivering within New Zealand or internationally. However, Starshipit is the clear winner here for us, but of course it comes at a cost, or rather an investment in your business.
Remember this isn't a static nor definitive list, new apps and features are being developed all the time. Our Wellington Web Design team would really like to see some more great and cost effective Shopify shipping apps for New Zealand.
Get in touch if you'd like to get some advice on Website Design, Shopify Development and the best shipping apps for your business.
