Nobody wants to be ‘that’ experience that leaves its customers high and dry with a surprise added delivery fee at the end of their checkout. Sacrilege. In the competitive world of eCommerce, free shipping is becoming like tax, it’s almost unavoidable. And like tax, someone has to pay for it.

Visitors over Customers

With the many potential customers visiting your eCommerce store, adding their cravings into their shopping cart, to find they’ve committed the unspeakable crime of total abandonment. Quite like disappearing to the ‘bathroom’ on a bad first date.

One can speculate reasonings, however, we can confidently suggest it’s about free shipping. It is the influencing factor from one site to another.

The Ultimatum

‘Does it really work?’. The benefits for the customer are evident, what about business owners? Can you make it work for you? Perhaps what one needs is little ploy and strategy..

First thing to consider, always, is understanding the shipping cost. From the moment your inventory is ready and to include it in financial models. Remember, it costs nothing to be kind to your shipping vendors, get those relationships established. By doing so, it can help scale down your overheads. Free shipping is also a long-term play: taking a short-term loss can be a smart sacrifice with a big-time payoff in the long run.

You 'reap what you sow'

Weather permitting, free shipping can be an effective way to increase sales and help your business thrive and fundamentally, customers Love it.

If properly implemented, free shipping doesn't have to break the bank. It can present a range of benefits including essential sales growth for your business.

Over and above it:

• Motivates purchases from potential customers
• Boosts average order value
• Stands out of your competitors
• Eliminates shopping cart abandonment
• Increases loyalty
• Ranks in search results for ‘Free Shipping’
  

So many factors that go into pricing. One would say, it’s like buying something ‘off the rack’, there is no one-size-fits-all approach for offering free shipping.

You run the world

• No qualifications, buy anything, and it gets shipped to you for free.
• You are a member and you join the merchant’s club, you qualify for free shipping. Spend above a specified amount, you qualify for free shipping
• Buyers qualify for free shipping only when they purchase select items
• Buy before a specific time or during a particular time
• Many free shipping promotions
• Constrained by time, meaning you have to buy during a specific promotion to qualify
  

Shipping options plays a crucial role in an online shopper's decision of where to spend their hard-earned cash. If implemented properly and strategically, free shipping is serviceable for both customers and businesses. Boom.