Bigcommerce Already Prepping For Holidays With Boosted Enterprise Services

It may not even be summer yet, but online commerce firms are already bracing for the holiday shopping bonanza. Last year, experts predicted a 16 percent increase in online holiday shopping sales, while every year shoppers seem to begin their gift buying earlier and earlier.

For suppliers, retailers and shippers, it is a whirlwind of business, and if you can’t keep up, you risk missing out on massive profits. This year, digital commerce platform and service provider Bigcommerce is already looking to get ahead of the game.

At the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition on Wednesday (June 3), Bigcommerce announced a partnership with shipping service company WebShopApps. Together, the companies will offer Bigcommerce’s 95,000 business customers around the globe the ShipperHQ solution, launched earlier this year. The tool allows both B2B and B2C retailers using Bigcommerce’s platform to provide their own buyers with crucial shipping services including quotes and support.

According to ShipperHQ founder and CEO Karen Baker, the partnership brings a key element to the businesses growing through Bigcommerce’s SaaS platform. “As these businesses grow, the ability to manage shipping rates and rules effectively and provide pricing transparency to customers has a material impact on their businesses,” the executive said. “Our goal is to give them the best the industry has to offer in a package that enables them to focus on growth instead of fighting technology.”

The tool provides a real-time shipping rate calculator and offers B2B wholesalers and suppliers with customizable shipping rates and methods depending on the buyer. It also offers support for some of the world’s largest shippers including UPS, FedEx and USPS.

According to research cited by the companies, 28 percent of online shoppers will abandon a cart if they are faced with unexpected shipping fees. This new tool provides online B2B and B2C retailers with services they can provide their customers to help lower that abandonment rate, Bigcommerce said. ShipperHQ will be available to Bigcommerce businesses in the year’s third quarter for a monthly fee, the firms said.