How to Set Up Real Time Shipping in eCommerce

In today's competitive eCommerce landscape, offering a seamless customer experience is crucial. One key factor that significantly impacts this experience is shipping transparency. Enter Real Time Shipping—a game-changer for eCommerce. By integrating Real Time Shipping options into your online store, you can empower your customers with upfront knowledge of delivery costs and timelines, leading to increased trust, reduced cart abandonment, and, ultimately, boost sales. 

In this article, we will discuss:

• Real Time Shipping
• Enable Real Time Shipping
• Review

Real Time Shipping

Real Time shipping allows you to offer your customers a variety of real-time shipping calculations for USPS (United States Postal Service) while checking out.

With Real Time Shipping, you can:

• Automatically calculate shipping costs
• Prevent overcharging or undercharging for shipping
• Drive more sales

When this option is enabled, your customers will see the shipping rates for their order in the delivery options during checkout. The shipping rates are based on dimensions, weight, and where the product is being shipped.

Enable Real Time Shipping

Use the following instructions to enable Real Time Shipping.

1. Login to your https://www.web.com/my-account/login.
2. In your Account Manager, click eCommerce on the left side of the page.
   • If you have no eCommerce products, you will be taken directly to the Scheduling Details page. Click Launch.
   • If you have one eCommerce product, you will see the eCommerce Details page. Click Manage Store.
   • If you have more than one eCommerce product, you will see a list of your eCommerce products. Click Manage next to the product you would like to view to get to the eCommerce Details page, then click Manage Store.
3. Once inside your eCommerce account, click Store on the left menu, then select Settings.
   
4. Look for the Shipments card, then click Manage.
    
5. On the Carriers tab, make sure you have USPS connected. Visit the article How to Add a Shipping Carrier in Ecommerce for more help. 
   
6. Click on the Defaults tab to confirm that you have entered the default package dimensions (measurements used to calculate shipping if the product doesn’t have any set). You should enter the length, width, height, and weight. Visit the instructions on updating your inventory for help updating specific products.  
7. Click the Online Store tab.
   
8. Choose Real Time Rate under Shipping Settings. You will see some options show up. If you do not have USPS connected and dimensions entered, you cannot select Real Time Rate.
9. Check the boxes for the domestic and international shipping options you want to offer.
10. Enter a Fall Back Amount (the default shipping rate charged in the unlikely event we can't get a rate from USPS).
11. Scroll down to Address Options and enter the origin address (where you’re shipping the product from).
    
12. Click Save.

Review

Don't let hidden shipping costs surprise your customers and derail their buying journey. Implement Real Time Shipping today and empower them with upfront transparency. This not only builds trust but also reduces cart abandonment and boosts sales. With a seamless checkout experience, you'll be well on your way to exceeding customer expectations and staying ahead of the competition in the ever-evolving e-commerce landscape.

We explored the power of Real Time Shipping to eCommerce. We discussed its benefits, including increased customer trust, reduced cart abandonment, and, ultimately, higher sales. We also provided a step-by-step guide on enabling real-time shipping for a smooth customer experience.