E-commerce is on the rise in the U.S. Retail e-commerce shopping in the country is a multi-billion dollar industry that increased 3.7 percent in the first quarter of this year to $92.8 billion from Q4 of 2015, according to the Department of Commerce. In a 2015 SurePayroll Smart Business Scorecard survey of small businesses, around 72 of respondents stated that they had a company website. Most surprisingly, however, was the small 26 percent that said they use their website for e-commerce.
To take advantage of this growing trend, retailers of all sizes need to tap into the e-commerce market to boost sales and beat out their competition. Aside from technological problems, one issue that holds up many business owners is shipping. As a retailer, shipping is a hassle. Whether its a busy holiday season or you are just swamped running your business's day-to-day operations, dealing with your e-commerce shipping logistics may be too much to handle.
Instead of wasting your time implementing inefficient shipping methods, here are three ways you can streamline your company or shop's shipping processes to grow your customer base and gain more revenue.
Apply thermal transfer labels
According to a recent study by IHL Group, a business management consultant, retailers lose around $1.1 trillion a year around the world due to inventory distortions, out-of-stocks and overstocks. While many retailers today use barcodes and supply chain technology to track their packages, there is always room for human error and labeling failure. Don't lose valuable assets to labels that fade or fall off during the manufacturing or shipping process. By applying thermal transfer barcode labels, retailers can be confident that their products' information won't fade, even when exposed to moisture or high heat throughout the supply chain.
Print your own thermal transfer labels
Instead of having outside sources handle your labeling application, you should print your own thermal transfer labels to gain efficiency and complete supply chain visibility. You can use your thermal transfer label printer to create labels of all materials, including polyester and polyimide, that keep them intact long after they are applied. Thermal transfer printers are commonly used for product identification, asset tagging and inventory identification, making them the right choice for retailers looking to gain a competitive edge in their market.
"Print your own thermal transfer labels to gain efficiency."
Schedule automatic pickups from shipping carriers
While you might have the most sophisticated labeling setup as a small retailer, don't waste time hauling your packages to the post office or nearest courier service provider. Instead, schedule automatic pickups at your store from whatever shipping carrier you choose to use, according to Square. Each provider offers their own unique options, fees and requirements, so make sure to carefully consider your options before deciding on what time you want pickups and with what company.
At Stranco, all of our customers receive affordable factory-direct pricing when they speak with one of our friendly customer service representatives. We offer high-performance thermal transfer labels that meet the needs for a wide range of marking applications. Whether our valued retail clients need product serial number labels to track their packages or manufacturers require electronic equipment labels for their products, Stranco provides thousands of labeling options to best fit their needs.
Our labels are also compatible with many name brand thermal transfer printers, such as Datamax, Sato and Zebra, which ensures that we are the right choice for retailers and manufacturers looking to fulfill their labeling needs. Contact us today to learn more about our durable thermal transfer labels that ship quickly with no minimum quantity per order.
