Digital commerce platforms have grown in complexity due to increased vendor choice and breadth of offerings and pricing model complexity. Two major platforms providers have taken different approaches to differentiate themselves from their competitors. BigCommerce has announced BigCommerce Shipping. Shopify has launched a full-service media production and development production studio.
BigCommerce’s end-to-end shipping solution is designed to simplify shipping and fulfilment for more than 60,000 merchants using BigCommerce. The service is supported by fulfilment and logistics suppliers ShipHawk and Parcelcast. BigCommerce Shipping is a free solution that will be made available to all BigCommerce customers. The service gives businesses selling on the digital commerce platform access to accurate, discounted shipping rates and improved shipping margins. It also provides a system to manage shipments and print shipping labels directly from the BigCommerce control panel.
A recent survey of BigCommerce merchants found that only 50 percent are satisfied with their existing shipping solution. BigCommerce Shipping enhances existing functionality through an integrated, in-product experience. The service is designed to address the most common shipping scenarios without increasing costs or operational complexity.
“Shipping represents one of the most influential parts of the eCommerce experience. Not only can it impact a merchant’s bottom line, but it has the ability to influence a customer’s opinion of the brand. BigCommerce Shipping helps businesses make shipping a competitive advantage,” said Jimmy Duvall, chief product officer at BigCommerce.
According to Duvall, “Our robust ecosystem of partners are vital to customers’ ability to solve complex shipping requirements. This offering gives merchants another option to leverage the rates and processes that work best for business needs and customers.”
With BigCommerce Shipping, merchants will have the opportunity to benefit from:
Increased margins
By offering discounted shipping rates with some of the nation’s leading carriers – including USPS, FedEx and DHL Express. The service provides a bulk-label printing solution that automatically chooses the best carrier for each box. The company suggest, BigCommerce Shipping helps lower costs, improve shipping margins and businesses’ bottom line.
Enhanced customer experience
From dynamic, accurate rates calculated directly in the shopping cart to real-time shipping updates. BigCommerce Shipping enables merchants to improve conversion and build brand loyalty by offering shoppers an enhanced shipping experience.
Streamlined shipping operations
With BigCommerce Shipping, merchants can compare rates, print labels, manage orders and reconcile shipping bills from a single dashboard. Analytics give merchants insights into shipping trends, shipping costs and ways to better optimise packaging, carrier relations and customer relations.
BigCommerce’s investment is an open platform for customers and partners is proving valuable for both its merchant and partner communities. BigCommerce Shipping has been developed on top of BigCommerce’s newest shipping APIs. The platform allows any shipping and fulfilment company to plug into BigCommerce and provide shipping rates or quotes.
BigCommerce Shipping is currently in beta. It is expected to be available to US-based merchants by the end of Q1 2019. International access expected to open later in the year.
Taking a different approach from the competition, Shopify is looking to add content to attract and retain new commercial relationships.
Is content still king in digital commerce?
Shopify is inspiring entrepreneurship in an entirely new way. The company’s new in-house TV and film production arm will focus on entertaining, inspiring stories of founders and the companies they build
Shopify Studios aims to bring entertaining, thought-provoking stories of entrepreneurs to audiences everywhere. Shopify Studios will capture and share stories of business owners who span a wide range of industries, backgrounds and cultures. The aim is to light the path for future inventors, artists, builders, innovators and dreamers to come.
The company is in partnership with production companies, such as Anonymous Content, Spoke Studios and Saville Productions. Shopify Studios will produce long, and short-form series, feature documentaries and more. Shopify Studios also publishes and will continue to develop its own original content across Shopify’s social media channels.
Enterprise Times: What this means for businesses?
Now, more than ever, retailers are looking to digital commerce to transform all aspects of their business. In the face of ever-increasing competition, they need to take advantage of new opportunities provided by establish eCommerce platforms.
For years, Shopify has had a front-row seat to an endless variety of journeys and inspiring success stories that defy stereotypes around entrepreneurship. Shopify has supported business owners from all walks of life, with a wealth of different passions. All these businesses are engaged in unique approaches to a shared goal of pursuing independence. Consequently, bringing those stories to the fore make perfect sense for Shopify.
Similarly, BigCommerce Shipping’s new end-to-end shipping solution, enabling merchants to improve shipping efficiency, margins and customer can only enhance the platform.
