In today’s pandemic-burdened world, we need the ease and convenience of online shopping more than ever. Retailers all over Canada have come to realize this first-hand. Having to either close their doors or limit their in-store visitors, at different points throughout the past year, has made things very tough on their bottom lines. Placing greater focuses on e-commerce, however, has helped for those bottom lines to not bottom out.
One way to secure an uptick in online sales is to offer free shipping. As many business owners have realized, it’s gotten to the point where it should no longer be an option. Here are three reasons to consider offering free shipping of your products:
1. Your competitors are offering it.
One way to lose customers to your competition is to not offer free shipping. Having the charges for shipping waived is at the top of the lists of most online shoppers when making their buying decisions. In fact, charging for shipping, in today’s world, is practically a way to send customers away. To ensure that you don’t send your site’s visitors elsewhere, offer free shipping and keep the traffic coming your way.
As reported by Michael Lazar on Shift4Shop.com, “Business Insider says that 58% of online retailers are already offering some form of free shipping. So, if a shopper doesn’t see a way to get free shipping at your store—you can bet there’s a good chance they will click their mouse a few times over to a store that does.”
2. It will encourage word-of-mouth promotion.
All business owners know the importance of word-of-mouth promotion. There’s nothing quite like it. Especially because so many customer opinions are expressed online, an e-commerce website that offers free shipping is bound to get a bunch of favourable reviews. Don’t underestimate the power of a 5-star Google or Yelp review. Consumers pay attention to them. By offering free shipping, you’ll gain many new eyes on your business.
Dennis Consorte of Consorte Marketing shares an infographic that speaks to this fact. Among its top ten reasons to offer free shipping to customers is the encouragement of top customer ratings and reviews. “63 percent of buyers say that free shipping has led them to recommend a retailer,” reveals the infographic.
3. Your sales are bound to increase.
At the end of the day, this is what all business owners want, right? You may assume that offering free shipping will cut into your bottom line. The statistics, however, prove that offering free shipping grows your revenue. Lazar unveils a number of stats that show just how much sales can increase when shipping charges aren’t an issue for customers.
According to Red Door Interactive, he reports, e-commerce orders can improve by as much as 90 percent with free shipping. Big Feet adds that conversions improve by 50 percent when offering free shipping. As well, Monetate has found that there is a 48 percent increase in customer acquisition with a free shipping offer
Is your company in need of a safe and secure e-commerce solution? Unity Payments can help you take advantage of this ever-growing trend. We’ve made selling online easier than ever! Please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761 or email us at info@unitypayments.ca to learn more.
