In today’s pandemic-burdened world, online shopping is the most popular it has ever been. It goes without saying that being able to make purchases from the comfort of your own home is a huge convenience. However, as we continue to battle COVID-19, the act of online shopping is also a significant safety measure.
With online shops becoming necessities for so many consumers, it’s important for e-commerce retailers to figure out how to make their websites stand out. Statistics show that there is something, in particular, that online shoppers simply cannot resist: free shipping. If you can waive the shipping charges on the purchases made in your online store, you stand to significantly increase your sales.
Free shipping grows your company’s reputation.
Don’t think for a second that if you offer free shipping, your customers won’t tell others about it. Consumers are often quick to share their shopping success stories. The knowledge of your site’s offer of free shipping is bound to spread like wildfire via social media. This is because of one simple fact: online shoppers are drawn to sites that offer this freebie. The many statistics posted by eCommerceFuel.com verify this.
According to FedEx, “many sellers offer free shipping because customers say they want it. In fact, 73% of online shoppers say that free shipping is what they want to see at checkout.” Get Elastic reports that “online shoppers prefer the cheapest shipping option 2/3 of the time. As well, 3D Cart reveals that “60% of shoppers abandon their carts because of extra costs, including shipping.”
It helps to increase your order size.
For many online shoppers, free shipping is equivalent to a discount. The money saved on shipping charges is, therefore, often put towards other purchases within the same transactions. For your online store, free shipping means that its visitors are bound to place higher orders. As online influencer, entrepreneur and author, Neil Patel points out on his website, free shipping also improves your conversion rate.
He provides the results of a number of case studies to prove his point. “Red Door found that adding a free shipping threshold to NuFACE increased orders by 90%,” he reveals, “2 Big Feet did a similar experiment on their own and increased orders by 50%. Comscore found that Free Shipping Day increased sales by 16%.”
It motivates online shoppers to visit your site.
Don’t underestimate the importance of having browsers on your site. Even when a visitor doesn’t make a purchase, it’s important for your online shop to give him/her a reason to return in the future. On eCommerceFuel.com, it is revealed that a Marketing Land study found that 9 out of 10 shoppers are motivated to shop online when free shipping is offered.
The site also notes that, according to Rejoiner, “unacceptable shipping costs” is the main reason why online shopping conversions drop significantly. As well, the National Retail Federation (NRF) found that 75% of shoppers expect delivery to be free even for order values below $50. 65% of shoppers check free shipping thresholds before adding items to their shopping carts.
Is your company website all set up with an online shop?
Let your customers make purchases with confidence using Unity Payments’ safe and secure e-commerce solution. Our online payment gateway accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover Network and gift cards. For more information, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-661-3761. You can also email us at info@unitypayments.ca.
