In the digital world that we live today, there are many options for us to shop for our favorite products. As all aspects of our lives have evolved with the constant use of technology, so have our options to shop with great liberty, customizing our experience. Smart retailers just know importance of online shopping experience. They provide their customers with responsive websites that can provide them with seamless shopping experience. However, this level of satisfaction is partially incomplete if the product your consumer purchased is not delivered to them on time, or comes with extra costs.
While shopping online, consumers take a blind leap of faith when purchasing your product. They cannot feel the merchandise before actually buying it, yet they try to familiarize themselves to whatever information you share online. And if they receive the product that has shipping costs added into the price of the product, they feel fooled and cheated.
Providing a flawless shipping is a must for your consumers. Most customers look for “free shipping coupons” in order to escape from the hidden costs that they have to bear while getting their product delivered to them.
Your Shoppers Look Forward To A Free Shipping Experience
We all know that we would want our products delivered free of any cost at our doorstep. This is not a mere assumption but a fact backed by research. According to a survey conducted by Internet Retailer 2016 Marketplaces consumers were questioned whether they preferred fast shipping or free shipping. 40% of customers wanted both perks, 60% of the customers declared that free shipping was their utmost priority. Only a meagre 0.9% employees wanted to get their products delivered to them fast.
So, there is no denying that your consumers love free shipping. Retailers, on the other hand wouldn’t consider free shipping as much an advantage. In fact it is the silent parasite that thrives on their profit margins. But they bear with it with a smile. They have to, in order to surpass the huge competition that surrounds them.
There is no such thing as free lunch. If you are offering your consumer with something free, it’s likely that you are going to incorporate the cost in your product or service. In the third quarter of 2016, the e-commerce giant Amazon offered its consumers free shipping by investing $1.74 billion.
Amazon seems to have understood its customer’s psyche quite right. A latest survey shows that the reason why most consumers prefer purchasing from Amazon is because they offer free shipping.
Different Tips To Offer Free Shipping To Consumers
The power free shipping has on boosting your sales cannot be denied. You can easily lure customers to purchase your products by offering them free shipping. However, the free perk that you offer your consumers can be costly for you. By using the following tips, you can ensure that your consumers enjoy a free-of-cost shipping without having to incur extra costs for your business.
#1 - Include Shipping Costs Into Product Pricing
The simplest way to offer free shipping to your consumers is by tweaking the price of your product. By including the shipping cost in the price, you can offer your customer with a free delivery without having to worry about adding extra costs to your business.
However, this strategy does not work well products that are to be sold in a price-driven market. If your product is being offered by plenty of competitors, then you shouldn’t consider this approach, as this would decrease its demand
#2 - Offer Free Shipping For Some Products
In order to lure your customers to make the purchase, you don’t have to offer free shipping on all your products. It’s always better to choose items that have a higher profit margin than others and offering free delivery option with them. You can create a separate section or a message that conveys the consumer that they will get free of cost shipping on purchasing particular products. The message will capture your consumer’s attention, leading to an increase in the volume of orders.
#3 - Decide Minimum Free Order Limits
Minimum free order limit is a very useful strategy employed by many online retailers that can help both consumer and retailer arrive at a mutual decision. A study conducted by UPS indicates that almost 95% of consumers will try to meet the minimum limit in order to enjoy free shipping order. Most of the times, fulfilling this limit requires your consumer to fill up his cart.
#4 - Try “Buy Online, Get From Stores” Offer
As retailers have realized the potential of their physical store warehouses, they have gone to capitalize on Buy Online, Get From Stores offers. Also known as BOPIS, this approach is a solution to two major weaknesses e-commerce stores have to deal with; shipping costs and the time that it takes in getting the product delivered to your consumer’s doorstep.
