5 Benefits of Offering Free Shipping

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5 Benefits of Offering Free Shipping

Free shipping has now turned into a cutthroat necessity for many online retailers and marketers. Of course, there are certain costs related to free shipping; however, there are more substantial reasons to feel good about it. When renowned online shopping websites like Amazon first introduced free shipping, maybe a couple or more years ago, it might not have made any good sense for all eCommerce merchants, particularly those with small businesses. But with the drastically increasing scale and growing customer expectations, free shipping has become common, mandatory, and even beneficial to most online retailers. Let us find out how.

5 Benefits of Offering Free Shipping

  • Free shipping increases sales– Free shipping has become tremendously popular with every retailer who deals with clients online. The reason is that the marketing company that provides an accessible shipping facility becomes famous all over an area and then all over the town. After that, it becomes evident that sales grow a lot due to the increased branding and popularity. Well, but there is a critical note attached to it which claims- “Some shoppers may charge for faster shipping when the situation demands, perhaps a last-minute gift or so. But otherwise, delivery times being equal, any customer would prefer not to pay while an order is being shipped. Therefore keeping this particular thing in mind, the facility named ‘Free shipping’ is introduced.
  • Free shipping boosts the average order value– A portion of the promised free-shipping-induced boost in eCommerce revenue will come in the form of increased average order value. When free shipping offers a minimum threshold like- £ 25, £ 50, or £ 70, some shoppers will certainly add more items to their carts. A June 2015 study from ComScore and UPS has reported that 52% of shoppers have added items to their eCommerce shopping cart to qualify for free shipping.
  • Free shipping costs can be controlledOnline retailers who sell commonly available products or other commodities often compete on the pricing. They try their best to diminish the margin, which triggers the race to reach the bottom first. Usually, there is no way out of it. One cannot help if their competitor is irrationally decreasing the price. However, free shipping can control costs to some extent. Confident online retailers can take actions that can significantly reduce shipping costs. Given this level of control, managing shipping expenses may even be a way to regain margin.
  • Loyal customers love free shipping– Although it is not yet 100% certain that free shipping offers help in retaining customers, many such marketers religiously believe that there is a strong bond, a strong relationship between the company and the customers. Furthermore, they think that most of the customers shopping from their websites are loyal and good. Therefore as a return gift, they offer them free shipping, and the customers, in return, give them good feedback and help them add up more new customers.
  • Free shipping helps enhance retailer-client trust– As human beings, we want our money to be spent the right way, and even if a little of it is wasted, it affects us. Therefore, free shipping is the best way to assure the mostly budget-oriented customers that their money has been invested in the right place, and not even a single penny is wasted in these criteria.

Author Bio: Mark Collins writes on behalf of Syncline, a company that provides multichannel eCommerce solutions.

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