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How to choose shipping software that reduces costs, delays and cart abandonment, improving the e-commerce customer experience.
For an e-commerce brand, shipping is not just the last step after payment. It is the point where the brand promise becomes an experience: delivery time, shipping costs, customer information, returnability and accuracy in order fulfillment. G2's article on the best tools shipping software highlights a market that has matured significantly: platforms such as ShipStation, Shippo, Easyship, Sendcloud and Stamps.com are competing not only in printing shipping labels, but in automating the entire fulfillment cycle.
For an online store owner, choosing the right solution should not be based solely on popularity or price, but on how it relates to the business model, couriers, sales markets and customer experience. Shipping software is now a critical part of the marketing strategy because it directly affects conversion rate and recurring revenue.
Source: Baymard Institute, Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics, 2024
According to the Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate in e-commerce stands at 70.19%, while additional costs such as shipping, taxes and fees remain the most common reason for checkout abandonment. This means that the cost and transparency of shipping is not an operational detail; it's a sales factor.
Shipping software is a platform that unifies and automates the basic shipping processes: shipping rate calculation, carrier selection, shipping labels creation, shipping tracking links, order update, returns management and interface with stores, marketplaces, ERP or WMS. In practice, it replaces multiple tabs, Excel files, manual entries in courier portals and the errors that arise when the team tries to manage increasing volumes of orders without a single system.
For small e-shops, the first benefit is time savings. If your team is currently copying customer data from WooCommerce, Shopify or another platform to the courier platform, then every order involves repetitive work and the possibility of error. For growing brands, the biggest benefit is scalability. An ecommerce shipping software allows rules like “if the order is over 2kg, use courier A” or “if the value is over 80 euros, offer free shipping with a specific service”.
The value of shipping automation becomes even clearer when we look at the customer experience. The shopper is not only comparing your store to direct competitors, but to the best delivery experience they've experienced overall. They expect clear costs, time estimates, real-time tracking and a simple returns management process. If these are missing, trust is diminished, especially with new customers who are buying from your brand for the first time.
The G2 page serves as a useful starting point because it brings together software shipping tools based on user reviews, product categorization and business needs. Its value lies not only in the list of tools, but in the way it captures real user expectations: ease of use, quality of support, connectivity, reliability in label creation, multi-carrier management and task automation.
Most solutions featured in the category have a common core: they connect to e-commerce platforms, import orders, create shipping labels, support courier integrations and send tracking updates to the customer. The differences show up in the details: which carriers are supported by country, whether there is a native connection to Shopify workflows, whether cross-border shipping is covered, whether returns are supported, whether there are automation rules, and whether pricing remains sustainable as order volume increases.
Properly reading a ratings platform like G2 requires that you don't just look at the overall score. Look for patterns in the reviews: do users report problems with support; are there frequent comments about delays in integrations; do they praise ease of installation? Are there reports of hidden costs or limitations in international shipping? These elements matter more than a general ranking, because they reveal day-to-day use of the tool in real-world situations.
Shipping affects conversion long before the customer gets to the “thank you for ordering” stage. Shipping costs often show up late in the checkout, the delivery estimate is unclear or the returns policy is unconvincing. According to the Baymard Institute, 48% of users who abandoned checkout did so because the extra costs were too high, while 23% cited slow delivery as the reason.
Source: Baymard Institute, Reasons for Cart Abandonment, 2024
Reasons directly or indirectly related to shipping, such as high costs, inability to calculate total costs, slow delivery and unsatisfactory returns policy, should be considered as part of the logistics strategy and not only as a UX issue.
The pressure is not only on checkout, but also on the volume of shipments. Pitney Bowes data shows that global parcel volume nearly doubled in four years, from 87 billion in 2018 to 161 billion in 2022. As volume increases, the more expensive the mistake becomes: wrong address, wrong service, delayed notification or poor carrier selection can translate into support costs, refunds and lost trust.
Source: Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index, 2018-2022
The first criterion is interconnections. If your store operates on Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, custom platform or marketplace, the solution must import orders without delay and return tracking information at the right point. Equally important is ERP integration, especially when the business has accounting, warehouse, inventory and billing in different systems.
The second criterion is the support of several transporters. A multi carrier shipping software allows cost and service comparisons, creating rules by region or weight and reducing dependence on a single provider. This is critical during peak periods, such as Black Friday, Christmas or discount campaigns, when one carrier's delays can affect the entire brand image.
The third criterion is rule automation. The real value is not to get someone to click “print label” faster, but to not have to make the same decision hundreds of times. Rules by SKU, weight, country, courier, service, order value, payment method or available stock reduce errors and stabilize fulfillment.
The fourth criterion is the post-mission experience. Real-time tracking must be clean, branded where possible and easy to find. The same goes for returns management. A return is not always a failure; it can be a customer retention opportunity if the process is simple and transparent.
The fifth criterion is the total cost. Don't just look at the monthly subscription. Calculate per-label charges, additional user costs, volume constraints, international shipping costs, potential integration charges, team training time and technical implementation costs. Sometimes a more expensive tool is cheaper in practice because it reduces man-hours, errors, tickets and delays.
Step 1: Map the current fulfillment process from the moment the order is placed to the moment the customer receives the tracking. Record who does what, how many minutes are required per order, how many errors occur per week and which points generate tickets to support.
Step 2: Define the business requirements. For example, do you need courier integrations with specific providers in Greece or abroad? Do you need shipping labels in batch? Do you need real-time tracking through branded page? Is there a need for ERP integration?This list should be divided into “must-have”, “important” and “nice-to-have”.
Step 3: Create a shortlist of three to five solutions. Use G2 to check ratings, user reviews and frequently cited pros or cons. Read reviews from businesses of similar size and industry to yours.
Step 4: Ask for a demo with real scenarios. Give examples: cash on delivery, ordering in a hard-to-reach area, ordering with two warehouses, returning a product, changing address after shipping or international order with customs details.
Step 5: Implement pilot. Start with a portion of orders or a carrier, measure time per shipment, errors, delays and support ticket volume. If data improves, gradually move to full implementation.
Step 6: Track KPIs after installation. Important metrics are shipping cost per order, on-time delivery rate, order processing time, label error rate, tickets per 100 orders, returns rate and conversion rate at checkout.
Shipping is one of the few places where the brand meets the customer outside the website. A clean shipping email, a proper tracking page, an accurate delivery estimate, and a simple returns policy reinforce credibility. Conversely, a lack of information creates anxiety and leads to repeated questions like “where is my order?” These WISMO tickets cost time and degrade the experience.
In terms of profitability, the right shipping management software helps to make better decisions about free shipping. Many e-shops offer free shipping without knowing exactly the margin per product category, region or payment method. With proper reporting, you can set a free shipping limit that increases the average order value without destroying the margin.
The link to marketing is also strong. If you know that a particular area has fast and affordable delivery, you can run local campaigns with a more aggressive message. If you know a product has a high return due to size or expectations, you can improve the content on the product page. If you know that customers who receive the first order quickly return more often, you can invest in premium delivery for high-value new customers.
The shipping software market has many worthwhile options, but the “best” solution is not the same for every business. A small brand may need simplicity, low cost, and a quick connection to Shopify or WooCommerce. A growing e-commerce may need multi carrier shipping software, ERP integration, automation rules and analytical reporting. An international brand may prioritize customs, cross-border rates and last mile delivery to multiple countries.
The practical approach is to start with the data: where you're wasting time, where you're wasting money, where you're losing customers. Then, use resources like G2 to compare solutions based on real evaluations, but filter the findings according to your own operational model. The right shipping software is not just a shipping tool. It's deployment infrastructure that impacts conversion, customer experience, operational costs and repeat sales.
Sources: G2 - Best Shipping Software, Baymard Institute – Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics, Baymard Institute - Reasons for Cart Abandonment, Pitney Bowes - Parcel Shipping Index, Shopify - Ecommerce Shipping Strategy
TWO DOTS
Proper e-shop building doesn't stop at design. You need clean architecture, connections to tools, automation and checkout that helps the customer complete the purchase.
The most important benefit is the automation of shipping processes to reduce errors, delays and manual work. At the same time, the customer experience is improved with cleaner tracking and better information.
Transparent shipping costs, clear delivery times and reliable information reduce uncertainty at checkout. This can reduce cart abandonment and increase completed purchases.
Supporting multiple carriers allows for cost comparison, better rules per region and more flexibility during peak periods. So the e-shop is not dependent on a single carrier.
It helps with real-time tracking, faster updates, branded shipping messages and a simpler returns process. All of this builds trust and reduces repetitive queries to support.
It needs to consider interfaces with its platform, couriers, ERP, automation rules, reporting, returns management and total cost of ownership.
Yes, because even a small e-shop can save time, reduce errors and better organize the fulfillment process. As orders increase, the value becomes even greater.
It is linked to profitability because it reduces operational costs, errors, support tickets and delays. In addition, it helps to better calculate free shipping limits and actual cost per order.
