Difference Between Economy and Standard International Shipping

Introduction

If you’re a first-time international shipper, getting confused between economy and standard international shipping is the most obvious thing. 

Honestly, choosing between delivery time and cost is no easy task. After all, optimized delivery is the secret key to business success. But if you make one wrong decision, it’ll directly hamper your brand offerings and customer loyalty. 

Thus, in this article, we’ll mention the benefits and shortcomings of the economy and standard international shipping services. In fact, we’ll also discuss delivery time frame, packaging standards, and tracking features in detail under these two shipping systems. At last, you’ll get a clear understanding of whether you should choose the economy one or the standard one for your international shipments. 

Let’s get started!

1) Economy vs. Standard International Shipping: Overview

Before we move on with a detailed comparison between these two international shipping systems, let’s understand what they actually mean. 

What Is the Economy International Shipping?

Economy international shipping refers to the shipping method that provides the most cost-effective delivery option for international shipments. As this shipping method is specially optimized for affordability, you have to compromise time for that.

Thus, unlike express and standard shipping services, this economy international shipping usually takes longer to deliver the parcel to its destination. But if you consider the saving part, the longer delivery time seems worth it. 

What Is Standard International Shipping? 

Standard international shipping is a regular shipping service that offers a balance between time and cost. This means it’s not as fast as expedited shipping which requires higher costs. 

On the other hand, it does not take longer delivery duration like economy shipping which is the most inexpensive solution. Typically, standard international shipping charges you a decent cost and offers an average delivery time. 

2) Economy vs. Standard International Shipping: Delivery Time

The exact delivery duration of any shipping system depends on the particular carrier you’re dealing with and the destination country. Still, after conducting thorough research and talking with some international shippers, here we have mentioned the estimated time taken by these two delivery methods. 

How Long Does Economy International Shipping Take?

As you know, economy international shipping is the most budget-friendly solution carrier companies offer. So, obviously, it needs a trade-off in terms of delivery time. 

Here, the packages go through the consolidation process and pass through multiple warehouses. Plus, economy international shipping mainly uses slower transportation modes that are inexpensive. 

On average, economy international shipping takes 7-20 business days - depending on the delivery destination. So, if you have any non-urgent shipments, this delivery option can be the best choice. 

We have also dug deeper and created a list of ETAs (Estimated Time of Arrival) well-known logistics companies take for economy international shipping: 

How long does standard international shipping take?

The standard shipping option delivers shipments faster than the economy one. But, it’s slower than expedited or priority international shipping that sends parcels within a day and overnight. 

Again, the estimated time of arrival for this kind of international shipping depends on your chosen carrier and the destination country. For example, where FedEx takes a maximum of 5 days to deliver shipments under its standard shipping option, it can take around 14 days with DHL. 

But if you come to a conclusion, standard international shipping takes around 6-10 days to reach the destination country. Let’s look at the estimated time of arrival leading logistics companies take under their standard international shipping services:

3) Economy vs. Standard International Shipping: Delivery Cost

There are a number of factors that affect the shipping costs. These include, but are not limited to, the destination country and origin country, shipment weight and dimensions, etc. So, let’s look at the overall differences in costs between the economy and standard shipping services. 

Economy International Shipping Is the Most Pocket-Friendly Solution. 

Among all the shipping services offered by a carrier under its international shipping package, the economy international one is the most affordable choice. To reduce the overall cost of shipping, it considers various strategies. 

For example, carriers consolidate the shipments that optimize container space, reduce fuel consumption, and minimize handling costs per item. Apart from that, in this delivery method, the logistics companies offer basic tracking features and pay less attention to the processing. As these shipments are not time-sensitive, they don’t require special packaging. 

Thus, you don’t need to worry about additional charges. You only have to pay the shipping cost. Let’s take the reference of USPS. If you go for its economy services, the rates start from $3.00 for mail and $15.75 for packages. 

Standard International Shipping Has Reasonable Rates. 

Standard international shipping isn’t as cheap as the economy one. But, at the same time, it’s not as expensive as the priority shipping service. It charges a decent price that every small-to-medium business can afford. 

Standard shipping often comes with additional services like better tracking options, more advanced handling procedures, and a higher level of customer service. Plus, it also adopts faster transportation modes than the economy one. 

That’s why you have to pay additional fees if you choose the standard international shipping service. If we take USPS’s example again, it’ll cost you around $30.35 for standard services. 

💡 Pro Tip: If you want to know recent accurate shipping costs, consider connecting with the carrier on your own. Most of the time, carrier companies offer a shipping calculator on their website, you can also use it to know the exact shipping cost.

4) Economy vs. Standard International Shipping: Reliability & Tracking 

Since almost 90% of customers want to know their packages’ whereabouts, let’s evaluate how their tracking systems are.  

Economy International Shipping Offers a Basic Tracking Service.

If you go for the economy shipping system, you’ll get minimal tracking features. But you’ll be missing out on the level of detail and frequent updates that are quite necessary to improve your brand loyalty. 

Thus, the economy option might not be a great choice if you’re looking for a reliable shipping service. If any shipping delays occur, you won’t be able to take proactive actions, which can degrade your brand reputation. 

Standard International Shipping Offers a More Advanced Tracking System

Though you won’t receive any high-level tracking updates in the standard international shipping service, it’s still better than the economy one. In this shipping system, you’ll get more frequent tracking updates. Overall, you’ll get better shipment visibility. 

Hence, standard international shipping service is more reliable and helps build a long-term relationship with your customers. 

5) Economy vs. Standard International Shipping: Packaging Standards

Here are the packaging standards both of these shipping systems have: 

Economy International Shipping Offers Sturdy Packaging.

If you think you’ll get cheap packaging services under the economy one, that’s not true. Even if it’s the most affordable option, you’ll still get sturdy and well-sealed packaging that will keep the products intact during transit. 

Remember, in this service, you’ll have to abide by international packaging standards for successful delivery. 

Standard International Shipping Also Has Decent Packaging Solutions.

Like economy international shipping service, standard shipping follows international packaging standards as well. Also, this type of shipping service offers proper packaging to ensure contents are secure from damage during the transportation period. 

Oftentimes, fragile items are also sent via the standard international shipping service. In that case, it offers appropriate packaging materials like bubble wrap and cushioning. 

Economy International Shipping: Pros & Cons

Now that you know the details about the economy international shipping service,  here’s a quick overview of its advantages and disadvantages. 

Standard International Shipping: Pros & Cons 

Likewise, take a quick look at the benefits and drawbacks of standard international shipping.

Do you need any shipping software to optimize the economy or standard international shipping methods?

Successful delivery is the most important aspect of building customer loyalty. So, it doesn’t matter if you’re choosing economy international service or the standard one; you must optimize the delivery process.  And shipping software like ClickPost can streamline the whole journey - giving you more control over your delivery. 

For example, it helps automate shipping labels and AWB numbers generation, allocates the most suitable carriers, and manages failed deliveries. 

If you go for the economy international shipping service, you might not get frequent delivery updates, which is the biggest turn-off. But ClickPost sends time-to-time tracking notifications to customers and helps you know beforehand if any delays occur.

Cherry on the top? It provides a branded tracking page and even takes care of the returns. Thus, shipping software is a must-have in your tech stack. 

Final Verdict: Which one should you choose between economy and standard international shipping? 

The simple answer: It depends! 

Selecting the right delivery methods mostly depends on your priority, budget, and shipment urgency. So, let’s see in which scenarios you should go for these two international shipping systems. 

Choose economy international shipping if: 

You have a limited budget for shipping, and shipments aren’t urgent. 

Choose standard international shipping if: 

Customer experience is your first priority, and you want a balance between shipping time and cost. 

Now, if you want to make your economy and standard international shipping more efficient, book a demo for ClickPost. 

FAQs 

1) Is Standard international shipping better than economy international shipping?

If cost isn’t your top priority and you want to improve customer experience, then standard international shipping is way better than the economy shipping method. Plus, the Standard delivery system doesn’t charge higher like the expedited one yet offers faster shipping time. 

2) Is economy international shipping worth it?

If you consider the “affordability” and “saving” parts, economy international shipping is absolutely worth it. But if you take the customer satisfaction part into consideration, it’s not a great option. So, check the shipping type and circumstances and then make your decision.