Most e-commerce sites frequently overlook the impact that free shipping can have on their product order volumes. When every cost affects the bottom line, free order shipping will boost the orders on your website and help you maximize your web sales. In addition to boosting your sales, eliminating delivery charges for orders makes excellent business sense for the other advantages it offers.
Avoid Competitive Disadvantage
Free order shipping and returns are almost standard in today’s marketplace. Business is challenging enough without handing your competition a simple advantage. This might mean you will have to increase the sticker price of your goods to disguise the free fulfillment and delivery cost. Remember, perception counts here. No online shopper enjoys seeing their shopping cart value increase due to additional fees at checkout. As a result, delivery fees impact abandonment rates, so watch out for that, too.
Boost Order Values
Setting a fair minimum qualifying value for orders eligible for free shipping can encourage consumers to spend more. They will purchase the products they need to reach the price point and unlock their incentive. Providing shoppers a reason to increase the volume of their orders will create happy customers and improve your online business at the same time.
Increase Conversion Rates
Did you know introducing shipping charges in your online store is the number one cause of online shopping cart abandonment? This surprise fee will undo all your marketing and conversion rate optimization work. Also, eliminating fulfillment charges increases customer confidence and significantly reduces their reluctance to purchase.
Receive Excellent Customer Satisfaction and Reviews
Overall, free shipping on orders makes the online shopping experience efficient from the customer’s viewpoint. A smooth experience indicates that a customer will more likely return to you for potential purchases rather than attempting to find a competitor. To find the best solution for you and your customers, you can provide a selection of shipping options, or downgrade the shipping available when free, to enhance customer satisfaction for shipping orders. The following are common shipping options provided:
- Free delivery
- 7-day shipping
- Economy shipping
- Free standard shipping
Lastly, this increased satisfaction will lead to better customer reviews on sites like Google or Facebook. A strong portfolio of positive reviews is essential in today’s social media-dominated landscape.
Takeaway
Providing free order shipping is a no-brainer for growing your e-commerce business and keeping your customers happy. Of course, a store owner must meet the minimum expense of shipping costs to benefit from more orders and cover the order cost.
Before determining your current shipping orders, you can test how they will impact your customer purchase behavior in a low-risk way. You can do this by having a deal-of-the-day promotion on a couple products on your website. Additionally, coupon codes, deals, and promo codes are the best way to start before opting for free shipping as a standard feature for online orders.
Running an online store can be overwhelming. Fortunately, collaborating with an accomplished e-commerce web design company like Adventure Web Interactive can help you find the best methods for optimizing your online sales.
Craig Kahl is the President and CEO of Adventure Web Interactive. AWI has been recognized as Baltimore’s Top Web Design Firm by The Daily Record and named one of Silicon Review Magazine’s Top 50 Most Admired Companies in the country. Before founding Adventure Web Interactive in 1997, he was VP of Operations for Campus Concepts, Inc., and the youngest division head in history for Pitney Bowes at age 24. He has a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from the University of Maryland and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Loyola University. Craig is a member of the International CEO Club and Rolling Road Golf Club and loves spending time outdoors with his wife and son.
