What is the best carrier for your e-commerce?

82% of online shoppers have abandoned their shopping carts because they found the delivery options unsatisfactory.

In this article, we are going to evoke the various carriers and their particularities. 

1. Carriers at the best price:

You have sold your products, and your orders are ready. Now how will they arrive at your customer's home?

As an e-merchant, margins are sometimes reduced. The choice of a carrier can allow you not to touch your margins yet and offer an affordable solution to your customers. 

For standard packages:

1. Metropolitan France: 

For metropolitan France, Colis Privé is the carrier that offers the best price and is extremely reactive in case of disputes. Colis Privé also covers 85% of theFrench postal codes. 

‍2. Transport to overseas department of France:

The most economical solution to send orders overseas is Colissimo Access. Your customers will receive their packages within 5 to 7 working days.

The little extras of this carrier: 

• It uses the postal network, which means that customs control and therefore customs duties are not systematic.
• It transfers the package only against signature, which makes it a secure solution.

Please note: All overseas deliveries are made by air. 

3. Transport to Europe: 

B2C Europe is an affordable and reliable agregator. This solution uses local postal networks and carriers as DPD to transport your customers' packages within 5 to 10 days.

But it does not serve all European countries like Belgium, for example. You will have to use a complementary solution such as Colissimo. ‍

4. Transport to the rest of the world:

As far as the rest of the world is concerned, the options are diverse with 2 main ones, Colissimo and express companies like UPS and DHL. ‍

The solution for small packages:

As an e-merchant, you may have smaller and lighter products to send, such as a pair of socks, for example. Are there specialized solutions for sending this type of product?

1. Metropolitan France and Overseas department: 

The best way to send small parcels at the best price is to use the tracked letter offered by La Poste. In addition to having an unbeatable shipping rate, it uses postal services, which is very advantageous in terms of time and security of delivery. 

However, the package cannot exceed 3 cm in thickness, which can be restrictive. It is up to you to adapt the carrier options to the size of the products. 

2. Transport to Europe and the rest of the world:

Let's say you need to send those small packages to Europe and the rest of the world.La Poste has also created a solution for sending small parcels internationally: Delivengo. It takes between 4 and 12 days for delivery, depending on the destination. 

There are still some constraints:

• The total size of the package (Length + Width + Height) must be less than 90 cm
• The length must not exceed 60 cm
• The weight must not exceed 2 kg

2. The fastest carriers:

Express delivery has become commonplace in e-commerce, and consumers are increasingly fond of it. If you choose to offer this option on your e-shop, which carriers offer the best express solutions? 

Metropolitan France: 

Chronopost 18 (the name comes from the offer "next day delivery before 6pm") is the solution according to us, which offers a fast and quality service in metropolitan France. 

By choosing Chronopost 18, your client can: 

• Choose the place where he wants the package to be delivered.
• Select a delivery slot. 
• Reschedule the delivery.

At Bigblue, we offer this option to our customers with preferential rates, and all orders placed before 1pm are delivered the next day. 

Transport to the rest of the world

The most efficient carrier for express deliveries from France to the rest of the world (overseas, Europe, world) is DHL express. Your package will arrive within 2 to 4 days, depending on the destination. DHL delivers to 220 countries, which gives you the choice to expand your business! 

Please note: Express shipping to other parts of the world is often done by air with a greater ecological impact.It is, therefore, a solution to be used sparingly.

3. Environmentally friendly carriers:

More and more consumers are interested in the environmental impact that a product ordered online can have. According to Fevad, 53% of online shoppers consider environmental issues before placing an order.

The choice of your carriers can reflect your ecological commitments. For example, Loom, which campaigns for a more environmentally friendly e-commerce, refuses express delivery. 

Do not offer express shipping:

If your customer wants to receive his parcel as soon as possible, for example, the next day. The carrier in charge of his parcel may make an empty trip. He will surely not have had time to accumulate other orders during the night. 

A traditional delivery option will give your carrier time to consolidate deliveries and reduce the carbon footprint of each package. 

Carriers who make the environment their priority:

Once you're convinced that the express delivery option isn't a good idea, it's also possible to choose a carrier that's committed to the environment like Colissimo or Chronopost. 

La Poste (parent company of Colissimo and Chronopost) tries to offset the environmental impact of deliveries to different degrees. For example, Colissimo finances environmental projects, which allow to compensate nearly 1.5 million tons ofCO2 each year and has the largest fleet of electric vehicles globally.

Favor relay points: 

The delivery in relay point allows mutualizing the deliveries to a single place and reducing the impact of the "last mile."

For example, 2 customers who are geographically close order online and have their goods delivered on the same day: 

• If they choose a relay point close to their home, the carrier will make one trip for 2 packages.
• If they choose to be delivered at home, the carrier will travel to both homes. The impact of the last mile makes sense in this case. 

But the option of the relay point is interesting mainly in urban areas because the customers can move on foot or by public transport. In rural areas, if the person has to take his car to go and pick up his parcel, the benefits are canceled. 

4. In Brief...

Fast, accessible, or environmentally friendly...there is a carrier for every issue and destination. It's up to you to find the one that best suits your needs. 

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