Is it a good idea to offer free shipping to your online customers? You might be thinking, “Hey, I don’t want to lose money on my e-commerce site!” Don’t worry. We’re here to assure you that offering free shipping to online shoppers is most definitely worth it.
Here are three ways that offering free shipping grows your bottom line:
1. Free shipping sets your e-commerce site apart from competitors.
The second an online shopper sees that your online store offers free shipping, he or she will make a comparison of your site to others that charge for delivery. Many online shoppers abandon their carts because of the added costs presented to them at checkout. By eliminating these extra fees, you will increase brand loyalty.
“Free shipping gives you a serious competitive edge that can help you outcompete your rivals,” insists Ottawa-based courier company, 10-21 SunRise, “It can even make you a more attractive proposition than larger companies. This is a massive advantage to wield. If your rivals are already offering free delivery, they are going to be taking a lot of potential business from you, which you need to win back by offering it yourself.”
2. Free shipping boosts brand loyalty.
Is there any better advertising than word of mouth promotion? Marketers in all industries are well aware that there is no more convincing advertisement than those coming from the mouths of actual customers. By offering free shipping, you stand to have your customers inform others about your e-commerce site.
“Consider adding free shipping as an exclusive perk for your loyalty club members or a tiered reward for members who have reached a certain level,” suggests Rachel Go of Shogun, “Convincing shoppers to sign up for a loyalty program to earn rewards and quality perks helps to extend your customer lifetime value. These shoppers essentially give your brand permission to stay in touch and contact them.”
3. Free shipping encourages larger orders.
“If I can get this shipped to me for free, I can afford to order more products!” This is the thinking of many an online shopper. Not only does free shipping help you to significantly lessen incidents of cart abandonment, it encourages shoppers to put more in their carts! According to 10-21 SunRise, the offer of free shipping is known to increase the sizes of final orders.
“If customers need to hit a certain price point to qualify for free delivery, they are more likely to throw in something extra to meet the threshold,” notes their website, “Let’s look at it like this. If you have a free shipping threshold of $15, and someone adds an item costing $11.99 to their cart. If shipping costs are $5, there’s a real incentive for them to add something that costs $3-4, as this will save them money on the order while also letting them treat themselves to something extra.”
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