Truly great ecommerce brands earn loyalty through simple, fast, predictable delivery. With BigCommerce powering more than 60,000 stores worldwide, it’s clear the platform has a lot going for it. Small businesses love how easy it is to set up a store and start selling.
What often gets overlooked is fulfillment complexity. Handling shipping costs, carrier selection, tracking updates, label printing, and returns—these all require time and tools. Growth often brings growing pains.
Integrating shipping software built for BigCommerce brings automation and flexibility that manual processes simply can’t match. It means real-time rate quotes, batch label printing, branded returns portals, automated order syncing, and more. These tools help scaling brands cut shipping costs and boost operational velocity.
What BigCommerce Offers Out of the Box
BigCommerce has some solid shipping basics. You get to set up zone-based rates, define flat-rate and weight-based shipping, offer free shipping thresholds, and print labels manually. For new or small stores this often checks all the boxes. Orders are few, complexity is low, and manual fulfillment is manageable.
What becomes clear quickly is that native tools miss the mark where scale counts. No real-time carrier rates from multiple carriers, limited automation, restricted return options, and no batch label printing. The needs of a growing store outpace what BigCommerce offers on its own.
Pro Tip: Research reveals that over half of shoppers leave their carts behind when faced with high shipping fees. Utilizing real-time quotes ensures you don’t lose sales over preventable pricing confusion.
Why Shipping Software Matters in BigCommerce
Shipping software isn’t just a fancy extra. When merchants rely only on native tools they run into a few serious limits:
- No real-time rate comparison at checkout. Customers see only generic or static rates. That can hurt conversion and margins.
- Manual workflows everywhere. Printing each label one at a time, manually entering tracking numbers, handling returns case by case adds hours to daily ops.
- Limited carrier options. Sticking to one provider or negotiating rates outside the storefront is less efficient.
- Inconsistent customer experience. Tracking updates are slow, returns are clunky, and branded postage is missing.
Shipping software addresses all those pain points. It syncs orders automatically, adds live rates from top carriers, enables batch label creation, wires tracking updates directly into the storefront, and can even feature headless returns portals. These tools don’t just save time. They reduce cart abandonment, rate shopping leaks, and carrier overcharges. It’s a direct hit to profitability and customer satisfaction.
Streamlining Multi-Carrier Shipping With BigCommerce
One carrier rarely fits every order. USPS might be cheapest for small domestic parcels, UPS better for heavy boxes, DHL for express international.
On their own, you’d need to manually juggle rates and carriers. Shipping software solves this. Rule-driven logic automatically routes each order to the best carrier, generates the label, and tracks it.
When combined with real-time checkout rates, customers see accurate shipping costs, you minimize mislabeling, and you eliminate manual quoting. That saves time and money while keeping fulfillment organized at scale.
Boosting Profits Through Smart Shipping Rules
Shipping rules are where profitability meets automation. When you set the right thresholds and logic, you just watch the money flow.
Smart shipping tactics include:
- Free shipping thresholds. Incentivize larger orders that cover your shipping margin.
- Dimensional (DIM) weight handling. Avoid overpaying for low-density items.
- Geo-based shipping. Offer cheaper ground rates regionally.
- Carrier split rules. Automate choosing the cheapest provider per zone and weight.
- Package consolidation. Combine small orders to lower label and fulfillment costs.
These rules get even more powerful when they trigger shipping software automation. Less manual work, fewer surprises, and a predictable impact on margins.
How BigCommerce Shipping Works
BigCommerce equips businesses with a robust set of tools to make shipping seamless, efficient, and cost-effective. Here’s a closer look at its core features:
Real-Time Carrier Quotes
Survey after survey shows unexpected shipping costs at checkout are one of the biggest turnoffs for customers and a reliable way to drive them to your competitors. BigCommerce eliminates this issue by pulling real-time carrier quotes directly into your store.
- Accurate Costs: Pull live data from major carriers to show exact rates at checkout.
- Multiple Options: Give customers the choice between express, standard, or budget-friendly shipping.
- Cart Integration: Automatically calculate costs based on product dimensions, weight, and destination.
Being upfront about costs fosters trust and helps lower cart abandonment rates, ultimately boosting conversions.
Returns, Exchanges & Shipping Management Made Simple
Returns can feel like a headache unless they’re systematized. The default setup in BigCommerce makes returns manual and error-prone.
Shipping platforms integrate return labels and portals with customer-facing branding and order history. This converts returns into another positive touchpoint.
While return triggers that create prepaid labels upon request might seem advanced, they’re totally doable when you use strong shipping software. That kind of automation reduces support tickets and makes customers more likely to purchase again.
Why ReadyShipper X is Built for BigCommerce
ReadyShipper X is purpose-built for enterprise BigCommerce merchants who want USPS and DHL automation from day one.
Key features include:
- Quick plug-and-play setup. Connect your store in minutes—no technical team required.
- USPS & DHL expert rates. Gets you competitive shipping prices without the volume requirement.
- Batch label printing and advanced automation. Fulfill multiple orders with a single click.
- Branded tracking and returns portal. Adds a customer-facing polish to your order flow.
- Weight logic and package types baked in. Automatically avoid overcharges and packaging errors.
- Inventory and order syncing. Keep systems up to date while you focus on growth.
A consultant rolled out ReadyShipper X to a mid-sized apparel brand running on BigCommerce. Label costs fell 15 percent while packing time dropped by 35 percent. Customer complaints and delays? Nearly eliminated. That kind of impact builds brand trust faster than a discount campaign.
Reporting features and reorder alerts helped the team plan better, reduce overhead, and avoid stockouts. Having all of shipping centralized in one platform gave them more visibility, which led to smarter decisions and resource allocation.
Shipping plays a vital role in shaping the customer journey, directly influencing their satisfaction with your brand. It’s also a key driver of business growth, impacting retention rates and your ability to scale effectively. In mastering BigCommerce’s robust features, you’re not just delivering products—you’re delivering exceptional customer experiences.
Ship Smarter With the Right Tools
The shipping gap between small stores and high-growth brands is clear. BigCommerce gives you the basics, but when you want efficiency, automation, and control, shipping software is a need not a luxury.
Think bigger than picking software. Think about shipping flows, partner carriers, threshold logic, and user experience. The right tool makes you faster, more flexible, and more profitable. It turns shipping—from a pain point—into a growth lever.
If your store is ready to step up, explore BigCommerce shipping software that aligns with where you’re heading—whether that’s deeper automation, international expansion, or branded customer touchpoints.
Frequently Asked Questions
What shipping carriers does BigCommerce support?
The platform supports USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL alongside any carrier you configure through third-party shipping integrations.
Can I automate shipping with BigCommerce?
Native tools allow manual label creation and rate setting. The right shipping software introduces full automation—including batch printing, order syncing, tracking updates, and returns.
What’s the difference between native shipping tools and third-party software?
Native tools are great for basic shipping needs. Third-party software adds live carrier rates, automation, carrier optimization, branded tracking, returns portals, and multi-carrier workflows.
Does BigCommerce support multi-warehouse shipping?
BigCommerce supports multiple warehouses natively. Some shipping platforms also let you route orders automatically based on location or inventory availability.
Can I offer real-time shipping rates at checkout?
That requires carrier-specific APIs, which native BigCommerce doesn’t offer. Integrations provide live quotes from USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and more.
What’s the best way to print labels with BigCommerce?
Manual label printing works for low volume. For growing stores, batch label printing via shipping software saves hours each day.
How can I reduce abandoned carts caused by high shipping costs?
Offer real-time rates, hide low-cost but slow options, incentivize free shipping at order thresholds, and use dimensional logic to manage hidden charges.
Is it possible to manage returns automatically with BigCommerce?
Yes. Top shipping platforms integrate return portals, printed labels, and order status updates—reducing friction and improving the customer experience.
What should I look for in BigCommerce shipping software?
Make sure it offers live rates, returns and tracking portals, multi-carrier support, automation workflows, and aligns with the tools you already use.
How does ReadyShipper X improve the BigCommerce shipping experience?
It gives USPS/DHL live rates, branded tracking, automated label printing, shipping rule logic, seamless returns, and fast setup. Stores using it often report cost savings and faster fulfillment timeframes.
Ready to Ship Smarter? ReadyCloud Has You Covered
If you’re using BigCommerce and struggling to keep fulfillment efficient, it’s time to bring in software that’s built for growth. ReadyCloud connects directly with your BigCommerce store and gives you the power to automate every step of your shipping and returns process.
From real-time carrier rates and batch label printing to a fully branded tracking and returns experience, ReadyCloud doesn’t just manage shipping—it makes it a seamless part of your business.
Ready to ship faster, reduce costs, and deliver better experiences?
Start your free trial of ReadyCloud today and see what shipping should really feel like.