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Why Retail Businesses Are Embracing Ship From Store

Infographic - 2 Min. Read

Learn how a ship-from-store program can help you save money and get products to customers faster.

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A photograph of a man stacking packages on a shelf.

Online shoppers want it all—speed, convenience, quality and good prices.

To help meet those expectations, many retailers are adopting ship-from-store programs that enhance their shipping strategy and improve customer service.

One major housewares retailer turned 25% of its U.S. and Canada stores into fulfillment centers.[1]
The retailer has also shipped more than a third of its digital orders from stores during COVID-19.[2]
In 2020, 44% of stores served partially or fully as fulfillment centers.[3]
44%
By 2022, an estimated 57% of retailers will utilize ship from store.[4]
57%

Why? Because delivering a great e‑commerce experience is more important than ever.

COVID-19-related boosts in online shopping resulted in an additional $105.47 billion in e-commerce revenue in 2020, Digital Commerce 360 estimates.[5] If it weren’t for the bump in online sales from the pandemic, the $791.70 billion in e-commerce sales wouldn’t have been reached until 2022.[6]

14.2% In 2020, e-commerce sales in the U.S. comprised 14.2% of all retail sales.[7]
19% By 2023, U.S. e-commerce is expected to account for 19% of retail sales.[8]

Delivering products quickly and affordably is critical to a great e-commerce experience.

of shoppers say they’ll only buy something from an online retailer that offers free shipping, while 15% will swap stores for free shipping.[9]
25%
of first-time customers who had an “easy” or “very easy” returns experience say they’d shop with that retailer again.[10] In contrast, 33% of repeat customers who had a “difficult” or “very difficult” experience wouldn’t shop with that retailer again.[11]
76%

Implementing a ship-from-store experience can help you save money and improve customer service.

Here’s how:

By tapping inventory in stores, not just in distribution centers, you’re less likely to disappoint customers with out-of-stock messages and lose sales.

Aligning demand in one region with inventory in another can reduce the need for markdowns on overstock, saving you money.

More efficient turnover means more space for newer products on store shelves, making for a better customer experience.

Shipping products from a store near the customer rather than from a distribution center can lower shipping costs and get products to customers faster.

Footnotes
  1. [1]Jen A. Miller, “Ship from store makes sense in a pandemic. Does it make sense long term?” Supply Chain Dive, Nov. 17, 2020.
  2. [2]Ibid.
  3. [3]“Retail speaks: Seven imperatives for the industry,” McKinsey & Co., 2021.
  4. [4]Ibid.
  5. [5]Fareeha Ali, former director of Editorial and Research, “Charts: How the coronavirus is changing ecommerce,” Digital Commerce 360, Feb. 19, 2021.
  6. [6]Ibid.
  7. [7]“US Retail Ecommerce Sales, 2019-2023 (billions, % change, and % of total retail sales),” eMarketer, Feb. 1, 2021.
  8. [8]Ibid.
  9. [9]“2020 State of Shipping Report,” Shippo, November 2020.
  10. [10]“State of Returns: New Expectations,” Narvar, October 2020.
  11. [11]Ibid.
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