Originally published August 22nd, 2022
Last updated May 19th, 2025
Shipping of online purchases has come a long way since the first days of ecommerce. But as the market grows, shoppers' expectations around service follow suit. Customers expect relatively quick delivery times. Unfortunately, several ecommerce shipping problems hinder store owners from meeting these growing customer expectations. Modern ecommerce shipping solutions now offer scalable support for high-volume online businesses looking to streamline their fulfillment workflows.
Many consumers embraced online shopping during the pandemic, and even as things return to normal, they are still incorporating it into their lives. Big ecommerce players such as Amazon have an edge in the industry and can overcome delivery problems easily, thus offering the fast and cost-effective shipping that customers demand. Small ecommerce businesses can compete by leveraging automated shipping platforms that integrate with major ecommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.
But that only drives customer expectations even higher than ever. They expect the same from all online retailers and ecommerce stores as they grow accustomed to low shipping costs, expedited shipping, and real-time tracking. Unfortunately, overcoming the ecommerce delivery problems and offering flawless and fast order fulfillment can be difficult due to other stumbling blocks, including inventory management issues, disruptions in the supply chain, and cash flow issues. This article will discuss common ecommerce shipping problems and the best business solution. To maintain a competitive edge, ecommerce store owners must prioritize delivery times and accurate tracking numbers through multi-carrier shipping software.
The Growing Demand For Fast Shipping
There's a growing demand for fast and on-time delivery among customers. Online shopper survey reveals that 68% of consumers would place an online order if the business assured them of fast shipping. More people are now ordering same-day delivery from major retailers such as Amazon and Shopify stores. Integrating real-time rate calculation at checkout can help ecommerce businesses manage customer expectations for expedited shipping.
Initially, businesses did expedited shipping for essential commodities such as groceries, but that has since changed. For instance, there was a 44% increase in online discussions regarding same-day delivery for personal care products and cosmetics between 2019 and 2020. Further, discussions related to same-day delivery of electronics increased by 321%, while those on apparel increased by 154%. These trends have significantly shaped customer expectations and influenced ecommerce shipping strategy decisions. Retailers must optimize their ecommerce shipping strategy to include flexible shipping methods that balance speed and cost.
Common Shipping Problems and Solutions
Shipping Delays
Shipping delays are a common occurrence in ecommerce. Most merchants face unforeseen challenges that disrupt the shipping process and hinder the customer from accessing their products at the desired time after being dispatched. Using ecommerce shipping software like Shippo or ShipStation can help monitor carrier rates and track performance to reduce delays.
The merchant has no option but to wait for the shipping carrier to overcome the challenges and deliver the products. Though the shipping company might try its best to correct the problem, the customer can grow impatient and decide to move to another seller, causing the ecommerce business to lose revenue and conversions.
If you experience shipping disruptions due to factors like winter storms, it is crucial to update your customers by posting on your social media, website, or sending real-time email notifications. If there are minor issues with the logistics concerning a single customer or a small number of orders, reach out personally through email as soon as possible to improve customer satisfaction and retention.
Sending the Wrong Item
Another common ecommerce shipping problem is fulfillment process errors. Sometimes mistakes happen even with automation in place. Sending wrong items is common, especially for online businesses delivering large volumes of daily orders. A single mistake in shipping labels or order processing can lead to a wrong product being delivered. To improve accuracy, many businesses implement barcode scanning and double-check systems during the order fulfillment process.
If this happens, compare the shipping label and invoice with what the customer received. Cover the return shipping expenses, offer a prepaid return label, and consider providing a discount to streamline the customer experience and support long-term loyalty.
Getting Out-of-Stock Orders
Out-of-stock orders are frustrating for both customers and business owners. This issue often occurs when inventory data isn’t updated in real-time, resulting in a checkout that accepts orders for unavailable items. End-to-end inventory management tools allow online stores to sync product availability across multiple sales channels automatically.
The best solution is to contact the customer, offer a fast refund, and suggest a similar product if possible. Good communication and proactive inventory forecasting can help optimize your ecommerce store and minimize this problem.
Shipping To Wrong Address
Delivering to the wrong address is also a significant eCommerce shipping problem. It usually happens if the customer enters the incorrect address when placing an online order. Adding an address verification API to your checkout process can minimize failed deliveries and ensure accurate data entry.
Mistakes happen, and you'll need to follow some steps to rectify the situation and get the package to your customer. Research the order with your shipping partner, and confirm that the package was delivered to the address on file. After securing the proof of shipping, choose between sending another product or waiting until the delivered one returns to your warehouse. When you send another product, you may lose some funds upfront, but you get a chance to appease your shopper and earn their repeat business.
Wrong/Invalid Tracking Code
If you manually update tracking codes, issuing an invalid or incorrect tracking number is possible. This causes confusion and can hurt your brand’s credibility.
To solve it, verify the actual shipping details, correct the tracking number, and notify the customer immediately with real-time updates. Streamline your shipping software integration to automate these processes and reduce errors.
Damage to Items
Damaged items are a major challenge in ecommerce shipping. Whether damage occurs during packing or international shipping, the result is poor customer satisfaction and added costs.
To maintain customer trust, cover return shipping expenses and send a replacement quickly. Use better packaging, add automation to warehouse processes, and optimize the shipping method for fragile goods.
Related: An Overview of eComm Shipping Best Practices
Best Practices for Handling Shipping Problems
Working with Reliable Delivery Services
Selecting the right shipping carrier or third-party logistics provider is critical. Evaluate their track record, pricing, and ability to scale with your online business.
Choosing the Right Packaging
Re-shipping an item due to damage incurred while in transit costs more than spending a bit more on a more robust and higher quality box or bubble wrap filler. Furthermore, you can't return the damaged product to the shelves even after re-shipping, so ensure you choose the appropriate packaging to avoid damage and improve the customer experience.
Allow a Review Step During Checkout
You can minimize the shipping to the wrong addresses problem by allowing a review step during checkout for customers to check their addresses before finalizing their orders. At this stage, they can also review other order details, such as purchased items and credit card information.
Sticking to 3 or 4 Shipping Methods
Having several shipping options is excellent. Unfortunately, too many shipping methods can lead to complications and increase the chances of mistakes. It is even worse in cases where you must account for international shipping and express deliveries. To avoid such complications, you should maintain four or fewer shipping methods that streamline your order fulfillment process.
Conducting Regular Inventory Checks
Having your inventory spread across different warehouses in various locations can lead to inventory management and ecommerce shipping problems. You can speed up pick times by conducting quarterly reviews and rearranging stock. This will enable accurate storefront updates to avoid out-of-stock issues and support a smoother shipping process.
Creating a Double-Check Pick System
Another solution would be to deploy a double-check system in your pick, pack, and ship process. Here, you can use an address validation service to ascertain that the address exists and has been entered correctly. It may seem like an extra task, but it can help keep most picking mistakes at bay and improve customer satisfaction.
Using an End-To-End Shipment Monitoring Service
Sometimes parcels go missing, which can be challenging to explain to the customer. For this reason, it is essential to use an end-to-end monitoring service that allows you and the customer to track the shipment's progress in real-time. This way, both of you know where the package is at all times and can follow up in case of any glitches. Additionally, this monitoring service prepares the customer to receive their shipment as they get notified of its arrival.
Related: How Does Amazon FBA Work? A Simple Explanation
Fulfillment by Amazon (Amazon FBA)
Amazon allows third-party sellers to do their business while using their established systems. Fulfillment by Amazon is a service allowing third-party sellers to automate their order fulfillment and shipping services. In short, Amazon ships your products so you can focus on selling. When enrolling in Amazon FBA, you let the ecommerce giant handle anything around delivery, including warehousing, picking, packing, returns, and refunds.
The company warehouses everything and processes all orders as the customers place them. This way, you can enjoy comprehensive customer support, fulfillment, shipping expenses, picking, packing, and access to a dynamic fulfillment network at a small cost. With Amazon FBA, you won't have to deal with shipping companies or third-party logistics. Additionally, you will bid farewell to many ecommerce shipping problems.
Amazon undertakes shipping and logistics on your behalf; thus, you only need to monitor your listings. You also enjoy discounted shipping rates, seeing that they are a global fulfillment giant. Although you pay fees for the service, they are less than when you manage your delivery and fulfillment in-house. Another exciting aspect of Fulfillment by Amazon is that your products get a Prime Badge which makes them eligible for free delivery to the customer, increasing conversions and customer support.
Best Solution to Shipping Problems
The key to solving common ecommerce shipping problems is a mitigating strategy that ensures the issues don't arise in the first place. It’s crucial to employ best practices for handling delivery problems. Similarly, Fulfillment by Amazon is an excellent solution to shipping and delivery challenges. Once you supply your products to Amazon, they'll take everything and fulfill the orders on your behalf while you focus on marketing.
However, whether shipping on your own or using Fulfillment by Amazon, you need cash flow ready to purchase your inventory and support your business needs. Considering the long ecommerce cash cycle, you will want a reliable funding option that understands ecommerce challenges and opportunities. At Onramp Funds, we are here to help you with that. Reach out to us to get started.
