What do you put on your shipping page? Five questions customers ask before checking out
,
by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
Shipping costs, letterbox sizing, delivery time, returns, and packaging: these are the five questions customers ask right before checkout. Here's how to answer them on your own shipping page, before anyone needs to email you.
Take a look back at your sent emails from last week. Chances are you typed roughly the same thing three times: when the package will be shipped, what shipping costs, and whether it fits through the letterbox. These aren't complicated questions. They are questions for which the answer could already have been on your website. And for every customer who takes the trouble to email, there are a few who don't and simply abandon their shopping cart.
Therefore, a shipping page is not a mandatory text block at the bottom of your website. It's the place where you eliminate the last doubt, just before someone clicks checkout. Furthermore, the online sales checklist from the ACM assumes that you provide some of this information before a customer orders, not just in the confirmation email. Below are the five most frequently asked questions, and what you can write about them.
1. What does shipping cost, and from what amount is it free?
Place the amount above the fold, in numbers, without reservation. Customers scan. A sentence like "shipping costs will be calculated at checkout" is precisely the sentence that makes someone go to checkout first to see it — and then drop out.
If you work with a free shipping threshold, mention it in the shopping cart: "only €6.20 to free shipping" sells better than a banner in your footer. Do calculate your threshold before lowering it: for a letterbox package, your packaging quickly costs a few tens of euros per hundred pieces, such as the recycled letterbox box A6 in a bundle of 100 pieces (€17.95). That's small per package, but it counts towards your margin.
What to put here specifically
The rate for letterbox post and the rate for a parcel, mentioned separately
From which order amount shipping is free
Whether you ship to Belgium and Germany, and what that costs
2. Will my order fit through the letterbox?
This is the question that comes in most often by email, and the question for which you can most easily provide a fixed answer. PostNL states on the customer service page about the letterbox package a maximum of 38 x 26.5 x 3.2 cm and a maximum of 2 kg. That 3.2 cm is the dimension where it often fails in practice: length and width are rarely the problem, height is.
It's useful to have a rule per product category on your shipping page, plus a mention on the product page itself. If you sell items that just barely fit or don't fit, measure your own boxes once and keep those dimensions handy. The A6 letterbox box of 180 x 115 x 28 mm and the A5+ variant of 255 x 160 x 28 mm (€24.00 per 100 pieces) remain below that limit at 28 mm — as long as you don't overstuff them and cause the flap to bulge.
If it doesn't fit, it's a parcel. You can simply write that down too: a customer who knows in advance that their order won't fit through the letterbox won't be disappointed if they find a collection note.
3. When will my package be shipped?
Don't promise a delivery day; that's not in your control. Do promise a shipping time, because that is in your control. "Ordered before 4 PM on weekdays, shipped the same day" is a firm agreement you can keep. Add which days you don't ship, and if there are any closing days approaching.
Also explain what happens if something is out of stock. Do you send the rest later, do you wait until everything is complete, or do you email first? Three lines of text on your shipping page can save dozens of emails during busy months. Leading up to the holidays, it pays to temporarily sharpen that paragraph with your final order date.
4. What if I want to return it?
The legal cooling-off period is 14 days, and the ACM requires you to be clear about this, including a link to your withdrawal form. Exceptions apply to some items, for example, sealed products that cannot be returned for hygiene reasons; for the precise wording, refer to the ACM's page on the cooling-off period and also include that exception on the product page itself.
More practical than the legal text is what the customer needs to DO. What address, who pays for the return shipment, how long does a refund take, and can it be returned in the original box? The latter saves you damaged returns. If you expect a return, you can include a roll of packaging tape 50 meters x 48 mm (€3.00) or advise not to close the box with a single strip of tape.
5. How will it be packaged?
Customers rarely ask this question aloud, but it's on their mind — especially for something fragile or a gift going directly to someone else. One paragraph about how you package does more than a page of promises about service.
Briefly describe what you work with: a 500 mm wide roll of bubble wrap (€12.95) to fill cavities, a cardboard shipping box of 15 x 15 x 15 cm (€1.99) for small orders, and VOID security seals (€9.95 for 60 pieces) if you want it to be visible whether a box has been opened en route. If you ship discreetly, in plain cardboard without a logo, that should also be stated here.
Put it on one page — and refer to it
A shipping page only works if customers encounter it. Link to it from the shopping cart, from every product page, and in your confirmation email. This distribution works well in practice:
Question
Where the answer belongs
What does shipping cost?
Shipping page, shopping cart, and product page
Does it fit through the letterbox?
Product page, with a general rule on the shipping page
When will it be shipped?
Shipping page and confirmation email
How do I return it?
Shipping page, with exceptions on the product page
How will it be packaged?
Shipping page, short and specific
Test your own page in five minutes
Open your site on your phone and find the shipping information without scrolling in the footer. If you can't, it's too deep.
Read the page aloud. Any sentence with "in principle" or "usually" is a sentence that a customer will email about.
Search your mailbox for the words letterbox, delivery time, and return. Any question you've answered twice belongs on the page.
Have someone unfamiliar with your store read the page and ask them what they pay now and when they will receive it.
Do this well once and you'll benefit for months — especially in September and October, when orders increase and your time for emails decreases.
Everything else that needs to be done
A good shipping page promises nothing that you cannot deliver at the packing table. So make sure your materials are in place before it gets busy. Check out letterbox packaging for everything that needs to go through the letterbox, packaging and shipping for boxes, foil and seals, tape for sealing, and bulk packaging for webshops if you buy per hundred or in bundles. Do you doubt which box size suits your assortment or would you like a price for larger quantities? Feel free to email info@verpakkingdeals.nl — we'll be happy to help.
Choosing a USB hub for working from home: 2.0 or 3.0, how many ports, and with switches
· 3 min reading time
Choosing a USB hub for working from home: 2.0 or 3.0, how many ports and with switchesYour desk needs three USB devices, but your laptop only has two ports. Or...
Power outages in autumn: emergency supplies you'll actually use
· 2 min reading time
Autumn Power Outages: Emergency Supplies You'll Actually Use October to December. Heating isn't in full swing yet, but the nights are getting long and cold. If a power outage strikes...
Choosing a power bank: capacity, charging speed, and weight compared
· 2 min reading time
Choosing a Power Bank: Capacity, Charging Speed, and Weight Compared Your phone dies when you're out and about. The classic emergency solution is a power bank. But what capacity do...
