Canada Post recently announced the launch of a new suite of services for e-commerce websites. Online retailers can now offer their customers a “superior” online shopping experience by using said newly release services. From now on Canada Post Web Services will allow sellers the ability to integrate their websites with the Canada Post database. This will give e-commerce sites a number of useful abilities including “alternative parcel collection points, tracking capabilities and a ‘real-time’ rate finder.” Online retailers can also use the web services from Canada Post to let customers download and then print a return label.
The Canadian crown corporation has made sure that its new web based services are “free, fully-supported and flexible.” This will allow e-commerce owners to use the post as they wish and give developers the ability to create custom integration. The flexibility provided by the system will make the features seem like a part of the retailer’s website given business owners the ability to control their user experience.
“This is a three-way win. Consumers benefit from a superior end-to-end shopping experience. Retailers can better satisfy their customers,” said René Desmarais, senior vice president for parcels at Canada Post. “And, services like this encourage Canadians to shop on Canadian sites – which is key to developing a globally competitive digital economy.”
The Canada Post has given its users a number of new features to use online. A nifty new ability is the “Deliver to Post Office” option which lets the buyer order their purchase to be delivered to a local post office so they can pick it up. This may be a hot feature when you take into consideration that Canada Post has approximately 6,500 branches throughout the country. This means that 78% of Canadians live within a 2.5km radius of a Canada Post location.
Another interesting feature is the real-time rate lookup which allows users to figure out the exact shipping rate before they purchase an item. Buyers can also track their package in real-time and also monitor shipping, processing and delivery status information.
Canada Post has been quite successful with its web services and has stated that growth rates for its 20 largest e-commerce customers increased in the double-digits for 2011. The company is looking to offset its decline in the traditional mail business by focusing on the development of e-commerce and parcel business.
Source: IT Business
CWTA Data Reveals That 270 Million Texts Sent Per Day In Canada
Air Canada Updates iPhone App To Include Passbook, iOS6 and iPhone 5
Lunches So Good Kids Can’t Ignore Them
Invigorating Ginger Smoothie
The U.K.’s Youngest Parents Ever
The new hair Jennifer Lawrence