eCommerce shipping software is a solution that helps online retailers automate label printing, order processing, and package tracking, simplifying the entire shipping workflow. If you're wondering how to choose shipping software for your eCommerce store step by step, the questions below cover the essentials to evaluate before signing a contract.
With many eCommerce shipping software providers available on the market, retailers have become more picky and choosy about such solutions. Fortunately, you can stand ahead of the competition when you are ready to meet your customers' expectations.
We've gathered a list of basic questions retailers usually ask when choosing shipping software.
1. Does your eCommerce shipping software come with support systems?
Installing software is not always an easy task and can be problematic for non-professionals. Make sure you can offer multiple support systems, such as email, phone, and live chat support.
2. Is there a possibility to manage shipping online with multiple devices?
Sometimes your potential clients may have more than one workstation or user managing shipping. In that case, they will prefer a solution that allows them to manage shipments from different devices or workstations.
3. What printers/label formats do you support?
There are generally two types of printers: thermal and standard. Thermal printers use heat to print, while standard printers use ink or laser technology to print shipping labels. Supporting both types helps your software appeal to a wider range of retailers.
4. Do you connect with the carrier(s) I use?
That's another basic question your potential clients may ask. They are looking for a solution that lets them keep working with the carriers they already use. If you also offer alternative carriers, that's a plus too, since it gives them a chance to find a less expensive way to ship.
5. What shipping scales does your shipping software support?
Since shipping software aims to automate the entire shipping process, supporting a scale is a valuable feature. It allows shipping weights to be entered automatically, so your clients don't have to do it manually before printing a label.
6. Does your system support the shopping platform(s) I use?
Since retailers build their stores on different shopping carts, they look for a solution that supports whichever platform they are using. The more shopping platforms your shipping software integrates with — from established carts to newer eCommerce marketplace services — the more potential clients you can reach.
But when you're talking about a dozen integrations, building and maintaining each one can become the most long-term and expensive undertaking of your business's lifetime. Each platform has its own unique architecture that requires time and expertise to learn. Establishing a single connection can take about a month and require a few thousand dollars, since you'll need an experienced developer to build the integration module — for example, a PrestaShop API integration. And that's not the end of the story: every integration also needs ongoing upgrades and maintenance, which requires further time and money. Because of these difficulties, many B2B providers can only afford to integrate with a couple of shopping carts, which narrows their business opportunities.
The optimal way is to use a unified API, provided by API2Cart. The service lets you connect with 70+ shopping platforms such as Shopify, OpenCart, WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop, BigCommerce, Amazon, and others. Thus, you perform one integration instead of numerous ones and get access to store data across any of these platforms — an approach that also pairs well with modern, low-code ways to run your store with AI, no developer required.
For more details on how a unified shopping cart integration can work for your business, contact us with a message or schedule a quick call with our expert.
