Free Shipping

In ecommerce, free shipping is when the customer doesn’t have to pay a dime for the shipping and delivery of their online order.

When online shoppers are considering whether to buy a product, they’re often attracted not only by a product’s price tag but also whether the company offers free shipping, too. It’s an attractive marketing proposition used by ecommerce sellers to entice their customers, often into spending more.

So is free shipping a real thing?

Put simply, no—not really.

After all, postal carriers have to charge for their services, so who’s covering these costs? On the whole, it’s the customer. It’s not unusual for ecommerce sellers to hike the prices of their products (albeit, slightly) to cover the cost of shipping. But, because the customer doesn’t pay anything other than the advertised price, the offer seems more attractive.

Is free shipping popular?

In short, yes.

Take a cursory glance at some of the major online retail clothing outlets. Almost all of them offer free shipping.

Do consumers really expect free shipping?

Research carried out by Walker Sands in 2018 found that 79% of US consumers said that a free shipping offer increases the likelihood of them buying online.

Are there different ways for online retailers to offer free shipping?

Again, yes, there are.

We’ve mentioned one already, but here’s a few more.

Vendors can provide free shipping to members only—for example, as Amazon Prime does for its customers. Members pay a subscription fee and in return, get free shipping on all their orders.

Some companies always offer free shipping, but these tend to be more prominent retailers.

Alternatively, other companies only offer free shipping on some items, not all of them. This strategy is particularly useful if you’re trying to get rid of old stock or stock you have too much of.

Last but not least, some companies only offer free shipping when a customer spends a minimum amount. This is another means of enticing a buyer to pay more if their basket total is a couple of dollars short of the free shipping minimum spend. This tactic helps to increase your average order values and ultimately, your customer lifetime values as well. To figure out what amount to set the minimum spend at so shoppers get free shipping, you need to calculate your free shipping threshold which you can learn more about here.