Over our past couple of blogs, we detailed some important ways that e-retailers can avoid cart abandonment. We’d argue that this is the most important time of the year to have such a discussion. Needless to say, the holiday shopping season is upon us. Many consumers have been and will continue to flock to the internet to make their gift purchases. In our last blog, we pointed out that offering free shipping is a great way for e-retailers to avoid cart abandonment.
“Shopping carts are often abandoned at the checkout when customers are dissuaded by an additional shipping charge,” reports BigCommerce.com, “Maintaining a steady cost from product page to checkout increases a customer’s likelihood on following through with the purchase.”
How else can free shipping boost your online sales?
It entices consumers to choose your online store over others.
Simply put, the words “free shipping” attracts buyers. In order to boost your online sales this holiday season, you need to entice shoppers to visit your online store to begin with. The offer of free shipping gives people a major incentive to select your site over its competitors. As Fida-E Zaheer highlights on Syncoria.com, one of the most significant reasons to offer free shipping is that it attracts the eyes of buyers.
“As per the 2016 Walker Sands Future of Retail Study, 90% of online consumers consider free shipping as their incentive to shop online,” he reveals, “No one wants to lose an offer where something is free and makes them feel that they are saving some money.”
It increases average order value.
Not only does an offer of free shipping bring consumers to your site, it encourages them to spend more than normal. By removing shipping charges from the shopping experience, you give shoppers the confidence that they are saving money. Therefore, they can make use of those savings by making additional and bigger purchases.
“If you have a certain limit fixed to provide consumers with free shipping, it will eventually improve the average order value,” says Zaheer, “As per the studies by UPS and comScore, 60% of online shoppers in the U.S. tend to add the products to their cart until they reach the free shipping threshold.”
It improves customer satisfaction.
Who doesn’t like getting something for free? At the end of the day, your willingness to offer a “freebie” to your customers is one that will be met with happiness and appreciation. Zaheer points out how important it is for smaller businesses to use free shipping as a way to gain some loyal customers.
“The concept of free shipping can help you to meet this goal of getting good loyal consumers,” he notes, “It boosts consumer experience and makes your e-commerce platform reliable to them. The customer starts to perceive your platform positively and consumer-friendly.”
Is your company in need of a safe and secure e-commerce solution? Unity Payments can help you to 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.
