9 Ecological Strategies to Implement in E-commerce

The growth of e-commerce has consistently increased over the years and experienced a significant surge with the onset of Covid-19. Physical stores unable to accommodate in-person customers had to quickly find a way to continue generating income to ensure the survival of their businesses. Many individuals working for companies that were temporarily or permanently closed chose to open their own online stores to cope with the sudden loss of income.

The growth of e-commerce has somewhat slowed with the lifting of restrictions on physical stores, but it is certainly not ready to disappear! Unfortunately, the rise in online sales is accompanied by an increase in environmental issues, particularly due to shipping and delivery practices. For instance, the World Economic Forum estimates that the growing consumer demand for home delivery, including next-day delivery, could lead to a 36% increase in delivery vehicles in city centers by 2030 compared to 2019. This, in turn, would result in a significant rise in emissions, pollution, and traffic congestion.

In addition, in the United States alone, approximately 165 billion packages are shipped each year, according to Forbes. The cardboard used for these packages equates to a staggering figure of about 1 billion trees. If you are an e-commerce entrepreneur dedicated to improving the health of the planet, it is important not only to understand the detrimental effects shipping can have on the environment but also to actively work to combat them.

On our WiziShop e-commerce solution, we see more and more e-retailers working on transforming the environmental impact of their online stores through delivery, packaging, values, etc.

To inspire you to make our world a greener and healthier place, here are 9 strategies your business can start implementing today!

Prioritize eco-friendly packaging materials

Packaging your products is a way to safely deliver your customers’ orders and promote your brand. Unfortunately, packaging waste can be a significant issue in the e-commerce industry.

According to a Statista study, product packaging accounted for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in the e-commerce sector, approximately 45% in 2020.

However, e-commerce entrepreneurs today have multiple options regarding the materials they use to ship their products, including many eco-friendly alternatives!

To ensure a better future for the planet, opt as much as possible for sustainable choices. For example, depending on the type of products you sell, you can use compostable mailers to ship your orders.

Are boxes essential for your shipments? Simply ensure that the boxes are made from materials easily recyclable by your customers after receiving their orders.

If your products need extra protection during the shipping process, add biodegradable packaging accessories to minimize the adverse effects on the environment. Try to avoid non-recyclable soft plastics when packaging your orders, and be mindful not to use excessive packaging, as it is a common issue for many online stores.

Efficiently Package Orders

Many e-commerce companies, especially when starting, make the mistake of packing orders in boxes that are far too large. Not only does this lack professionalism, but it is also wasteful for the business. By packaging your orders as efficiently as possible, you can reduce packaging material costs and enable a more efficient and sustainable shipping process. Smaller packages take up less space on the transportation method you use for shipping, allowing you to ship more orders at once.

Just be sure not to pack your orders too tightly, as this could damage the items inside, leading to an increase in customer returns and nullifying any environmental benefits you may have hoped to achieve!

Allow Customers to Offset Environmental Impact at Checkout

For various reasons, your customers may sometimes prefer to use faster shipping methods, such as next-day delivery, when making purchases on your online store. Give environmentally conscious buyers the option to offset their individual carbon footprint by participating in programs that contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

One of the simplest ways to achieve this is to allow customers to purchase carbon offsets at checkout on your site. This not only raises awareness among the public about the problem of increasing greenhouse gas emissions but also allows you, as an e-commerce entrepreneur, to take action to reduce their harmful effects.

To facilitate this process, ensure that you partner with a carbon offset solution that seamlessly integrates with your online store’s checkout. Note that it is important to research before choosing a carbon offset plan, as not all solutions take the same measures or involve the same environmental projects.

Encourage Ground Shipping

Depending on your geographical location and that of your customers, you may consider offering ground shipping to limit air freight and reduce your carbon footprint. While this may not be possible when shipping to customers abroad, encourage this option whenever possible.

Keep in mind that, as this option is slower than air methods, some of your customers may be less inclined to select it at checkout. In addition to informing buyers about the environmental benefits of ground shipping, you can promote this delivery method by offering it for free or at a reduced cost.

Use the “Shop-in-Town-Container” (SIOC) Technique

The SIOC technique is an excellent way to avoid adding unnecessary packaging to ship your customers’ orders. Its feasibility will, of course, depend on the types of products offered on your e-commerce site.

With this strategy, you will ship the item in its original packaging rather than placing it in an additional container, such as a regular cardboard box. For example, let’s say you sell smoothie blenders. You could simply ship the appliance in its original packaging, adding the shipping label directly to the product’s cardboard box, reducing your packaging costs while helping nature!

Group Orders

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Online shoppers have become accustomed to fast shipping options that allow them to receive their orders in a few days, or even within 24 hours.

This can be beneficial for your business, as fast shipping provides consumers with more convenience and encourages them to place orders more frequently. However, it also makes the delivery process much less efficient, with negative consequences for the environment.

By grouping customer orders whenever possible, you can help reduce emissions by decreasing the number of delivery vehicles needed to send orders. This can contribute to long-term cost savings for your business.

Encourage shoppers on your site to purchase multiple items simultaneously rather than creating multiple small orders by setting a minimum order amount for free shipping. Another strategy to help consolidate orders is to ship multiple orders from the same customer if they are placed within a 24-hour period, for example.

Promote Reuse and Recycling of Your Packaging

Even if you use the most eco-friendly packaging possible, it is highly likely to end up in a landfill if your customers are not aware that they have other options. By properly informing customers about different ways to reuse and/or recycle your packaging after receiving their orders, you empower them to contribute to improving e-commerce sustainability.

For example, clearly communicate to buyers instructions for reusing your packaging for their personal shipping, storage needs, etc., or for breaking down the packaging for effective recycling. This information can be provided through an instruction manual inserted into the packaging itself or in an email sent after the purchase if you prefer a digital approach.

Choose Partners Specializing in Ecology

Another simple way to make your e-commerce business more sustainable is to partner with shipping and delivery partners that are equally environmentally conscious as your brand. Of course, the options available to you depend on your geographical location, but it is worth noting that several major international carriers offer eco-friendly solutions to their customers.

For example, FedEx, UPS, and DPD all participate in programs aimed at reducing the environmental impact and offer recyclable shipping materials, paperless invoices, digital tracking options, and more.

Whether it’s using greener transportation methods, such as electric vehicles or even electric bikes and delivery robots, or implementing practices to maximize efficiency, such as solar power generation, carriers are starting to take more responsibility for sustainability in e-commerce.

If you haven’t launched your online store yet, consider this idea when researching e-commerce platforms. Make sure the solution you choose provides a diverse selection of partners you can collaborate with to meet your shipping needs and environmental values.

Note that, regardless of the partners you choose to work with, a simple step you can take to increase your commitment is to schedule pickups for your orders instead of delivering them yourself whenever possible. Since carriers are likely to follow a route anyway, this is a straightforward yet effective way to reduce your individual carbon footprint.

Reduce Returns

With the increasing number of online stores launched worldwide, the e-commerce return rate has also risen. According to Invesp, while physical stores experience an average product return rate of 8.89%, the average return rate jumps to 30% for online stores!

In an effort to enhance the user experience, many businesses strive to make returning orders as easy as possible for their customers.

While this is very convenient for buyers, it unfortunately has a negative impact on the environment due to increased resources required for transportation and packaging. If products are returned in an unusable condition and cannot be resold, it leads to an increase in waste in landfills.

To contribute to minimizing these negative impacts, analyze your business to see how you can reduce returns. Where to start?

A Statista study in 2019 among global shoppers revealed that defective or damaged products were the primary reason for online returns. This is where excellent quality control and secure packaging come into play to increase the chances of customer satisfaction.

You can also reduce returns on your online store by helping your customers make purchase decisions before checkout. Ensure that your product pages contain detailed and accurate information to assist buyers in determining if an item is a perfect fit for them. Customer reviews can also be very helpful, especially if they include individual details about the product in question.

For example, let’s say you sell pet products. You could give customers the option to provide specific information, such as the type of pet for which they purchased the product, as well as its age, breed, etc. This information can be invaluable for other visitors to your site in determining if the product meets their needs.

Another measure you might consider is eliminating free returns. Some buyers may not be thrilled about this change, but emphasize the environmental benefits when communicating about your new policy to give meaning to your action.

Conclusion

As e-commerce continues to grow globally, the need to be proactive in reducing its negative impact on the environment becomes increasingly important. To be part of the solution, consider implementing the strategies mentioned in this article, adapting them to the needs of your store.

Regardless of the size of your business, every step you take to counteract the negative impact of the surge in online sales will be beneficial!

Remember that whatever actions you choose to use to make your business more environmentally responsible, it is essential that your words align with your actions as a brand. Your request for customer participation in your carbon offset program to be more environmentally friendly will carry less weight if you ship their orders in boxes that are far too large and filled with unnecessary plastic!

For each action you integrate into your ecological strategy, explain your reasoning to buyers. Emphasize the positive impact of the action on the environment as well as the potential savings for the customer.

Finally, remember that this list of sustainable strategies is by no means exhaustive. However, it can serve as an excellent starting point to help you contribute to improving the health of the planet!