Being able to deliver the orders at a lightning speed could indeed be a game-changer for your eCommerce business. According to the Arvato survey, almost 53% of online shoppers consider the speed of delivery as the most important factor when it comes to online order fulfilment. Shoppers tend to look for the estimated delivery date of the order before placing the order online. No shopper likes a delayed order or an order that delivers on a date beyond their expected date of delivery. For example, if you are looking for a product on Amazon or any other popular online store, definitely after a look at the price the very next thing that grabs our attention is the expected delivery date. Amazon Prime does deliver on the same day or in a day or two, which has become a norm for many shoppers. So how do other online stores compete with the same? Overnight shipping is an answer to it.
What if you are searching for an item, and you need it the very next day? It is indeed hard to get the orders placed and get fulfilled on the very same day. But thanks to some popular shipping carriers who are ready to make deliveries overnight. When the delivery service is beyond the expectations, there are chances of random customers becoming potential customers. But again to get something at an express speed like overnight delivery, you are likely going to end up paying a little more than the nominal charges.
What is Overnight Shipping?
The quickest option to deliver packages is Overnight shipping. It assures that your customer receives the package on the very next business day. You can see that different shipping services offer varied overnight shipping service depending on the time your customer wants to receive the item. Popular overnight shipping services are USPS Overnight Shipping, UPS Overnight Shipping, DHL Overnight Shipping and FedEx Overnight Shipping. Let’s take a look at them closely.
USPS Overnight Shipping
USPS offers overnight delivery options using the USPS Priority Mail Express Services. Priority Express offers overnight to 2-day delivery services and with a money-back guarantee. With Priority Mail Express Flat Rate you can ship packages that are up to 70 lbs to any state at the same price. The pricing starts from $26.35.
Features include:
- Fastest delivery times: overnight — 2 days with a money-back guarantee.
- You can get overnight delivery within the delivery time by 10:30 am, Sundays as well as on holidays at additional fees.
- They also offer a free package pickup service.
- The service includes USPS tracking and also insurance up to $100 for most shipments.
- The price is inclusive of proof of delivery signature record.
- The packaged weight must be a maximum of 70 lbs.
- The total length and girth combine must be 108″.
FedEx Overnight Shipping
FedEx offers three services within the US locations that allow shippers to get pickup options and customize delivery.
FedEx First Overnight: This option offers delivery the next business day morning by 8 AM, 8:30 AM, 9 AM or 9:30 AM to most of the areas in the US. Utmost the maximum delivery time available is up to 2 PM.
FedEx Priority Overnight: This delivery option offers delivery by the next business day by 10:30 AM to most businesses located in the contiguous U.S. and by noon or 4:30 PM to residences and other rural areas.
FedEx Standard Overnight: This delivery option offers delivery by the next business day by 4:30 PM to U.S. businesses and by 8 PM to residences.
Features include:
- They offer Monday- Friday delivery options. Saturday delivery is available at an extra cost.
- You can ship packages that weigh up to 150 lbs. each, up to 119″ in length, 165″ in length plus girth.
- Delivery is available throughout the United States. For certain deliveries to and from the selected zip codes in Alaska and Hawaii, the delivery time may differ from the time in the contiguous U.S.
- The drop off time for packages at the FedEx locations differ concerning the locations.
- For shipping, you need not create an account.
- You get cold shipping boxes to ship items that need to be delivered the very next day. It can maintain a constant 2–8°C (35.6–46.4°F) temperature.
UPS Overnight Shipping
UPS also offers three overnight shipping options for delivering overnight.
- UPS Next Day Air Early: Most expensive option, but offer guaranteed package delivery on the next business day by 8 AM. Ideal for time-critical shipments.
- UPS Next Day Air: Delivery is guaranteed by the next business day by 10:30 AM. This is ideal for day-definite shipments.
- UPS Next Day Air Saver: Least expensive option, and guarantees package delivery on the next business day by 3 PM. This offers deliveries by the end of the next business day.
Features include:
- Fastest delivery option.
- Tracking included.
- All include free UPS packaging options.
DHL Overnight Shipping
If you are looking for delivering shipments internationally overnight, then DHL is the ideal choice. It is expensive though. The services are ideal for mission-critical shipments that also need immediate pickup and delivery option within the shortest time frame.
DHL Sameday Jetline: This delivery option chooses the very next flight out and delivers door-to-door within the shortest span of time.
DHL Sameday Sprintline: This delivery option uses the very next available truck or van delivery option and delivers door-to-door.
Features:
- Suitable for any emergency delivery options.
- Has a certain cut off time. If you miss the cut off time, the delivery will be conducted on the next available option.
- In some cases, there are limitations concerning the weight and dimensions of the package.
- Global coverage is available from certain countries.
- Complete flexible arrangements for emergency shipments.
- Excellent for business to business needs.
How Does Overnight Shipping Work?
In most cases for overnight delivery, the packages are shipped during the night on the day of booking, so it arrives on the very next day at the desired locations. Typically the shipment takes a night and a few hours for delivery. It is indeed hard at times when the shipment gets delayed due to unprecedented causes. However, when shipments are offered guaranteed delivery, if your shipments are not reaching on time, you get money back. For most of the shipments, the cut-off time is 6 PM and 7 PM. Once the cut-off time is crossed, the shipments will be shipped at the next available hours. For both UPS and FedEx shipping services, only Saturday pickups and deliveries are available for an additional charge. Residential and fuel surcharges also apply in the case of both UPS and FedEx.
How Much Does Overnight Shipping Cost?
If you are determining the cost of shipping for overnight shipping, then there are no one size fits all. So here are some factors that do determine the cost of overnight shipping. They are:
Dimension: In the case of considering the dimension for determining the price, the overall package dimension is considered.
Time Frame for delivery: You need to pay more, for faster delivery.
Weight of the package: The heavier the package, the greater will be the cost. The cost is actually determined upon the actual weight or dimensional weight.
Shipping distance: The cost is calculated based on origin and destination.
Carrier Shipping agreements: Some shipping carriers offer discounted shipping rates for shipping larger volumes to small scale businesses.
Let us consider the shipping cost for shipping a package weighing a 2lb package sized 10” x 5” x 5” from Brooklyn, New York, to Miami, Florida.
| Courier Service | Price |
| USPS Priority Mail Express | $46.20 |
| UPS Next Day Air Early | $114.74 |
| UPS Next Day Air | $84.51 |
| FedEx First Overnight | $106.94 |
| FedEx Priority Overnight | $64.44 |
| FedEx Standard Overnight | $60.80 |
As you can see in this example, USPS Priority Mail Express is the cheapest overnight shipping option.
How to Integrate these Overnight Services on your WooCommerce store?
If you are looking for integrating USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL overnight services, you can do so using these plugins:
- ELEX EasyPost (FedEx, UPS, Canada Post & USPS) Shipping & Label Printing Plugin for WooCommerce
- ELEX WooCommerce DHL Express / eCommerce / Paket Shipping Plugin with Print Label
Using these plugins, it becomes easy to list the shipping services at the checkout page for easily allowing the customers to choose the services as per their choice.
As you can see, the overnight delivery options for UPS, USPS and FedEx are listed for customers to choose the one that suits their needs.
Learn more about the plugin from the product page.
For DHL, you can choose a quick delivery option using the plugin which lists many services offered by DHL.
Upon choosing the desired services from the plugin in the backend, you can display them on the checkout page.
It is also easy to provide the cut-off time for shipping services here.
Learn more about the ELEX DHL Shipping plugin from the product page.
Use Overnight Shipping and Keep your Customers Happy
Offering faster delivery options is trending in eCommerce now. To compete with popular eCommerce options like Amazon, eBay, etc., eCommerce businesses are bringing up better services that provide quick deliveries. Luckily the popular shipping services are offering their helping hand in facilitating such speedy deliveries across locations. You can always go for the cheapest options to deliver, but again, faster options do help to build a brand for your eCommerce business.
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