Free shipping.
These two words work like amagic spell. They are the.
However, offering free shipping onyour online store may bequite aventure.
How can you predict whether free shipping will beprofitable? How doyou choose agood shipping strategy that doesn’t break thebank? Isiteven areliable idea forsmall businesses?
Wesuggest that you don’t act with ablindfold on, sowehave collected some free shipping tactics foryou.
Should IOffer Free Shipping?
46% ofcustomers are likely topay abit more fortheir overall order ifitcomes with free shipping.
Itmight not come asasurprise, but 84% ofonline customers are more likely toshop with brands that offer free shipping.
87% ofconsumers will refer toAmazon fortheir gift purchases— andAmazon isone ofthemost famous providers offree shipping.
But you shouldn’t offer itjust because your customers expect it, orbecause itmight increase your order volume, orbecause you are eager totake apiece ofAmazon’s andother giants’ big money.
What you really should doismake a
- Your profit margins. Remember that your margins vary per product. Don’t betoo hasty toput afree shipping label onevery piece inyour store.
- Your products. The weight andsize ofaproduct influence theshipping cost. The heavier andlarger aproduct is, themore restrictions you should consider forshipping.
- Your AOV. Ifyou offer free shipping with athreshold, you’ll want toincrease your AOV (average order value). Measure itandset athreshold alittle above that amount.
- Your customer’s location. Ifyou ship abroad ortofaraway destinations, don’t forget toexclude them from your free shipping list ortoatleast set athreshold.
Don’t offer free shipping just because your customers expect itorbecause itmight increase your order volume.
Related:
6Free Shipping Tactics forYour Online Store
Ifyou have decided tooffer free shipping onyour website, you should know there ismore than one way todoso. Here are six tactics toimplement free shipping foryour online store while keeping itprofitable.
Free shipping oneverything
Offer this ifyou sell small andlightweight products with a
MAC Cosmetics can offer free shipping since their products are lightweight
Tip: Ifyou can offer free shipping oneverything, don’t stay under theradar. Mention your free shipping policy inyour newsletter andonsocial media pages, add abar saying Free Shipping onthestore homepage.
Ashipping threshold
Setting athreshold isastrong marketing punch toincrease your AOV. This way you encourage customers toorder more products: people say that having anorder ship forfree isthebiggest incentive toadd more totheir cart.
Asos offers free shipping iftheorder isover $49.99
Sosetting athreshold helps toincrease theaverage order value, but how doyou calculate theminimum order amount? Let’s consider thefollowing example.
Number oforders— 10
Average order value— $40
Profit margin— 25%
Average shipping cost per order— $10
Calculation:
Profit 10х40=400
Gross profit 400х25/100=100
Shipping expenses 10х10=100
Net profit 100
You will break even ifyou offer free shipping fora$40order. For anet profit tobe$100, gross profit should be$200. Sotheprofit should be200/25×100=$800, andanaverage order amount— 800/10=$80.
Dothesame calculations foryour business ortry that’ll help you calculate your optimal shipping threshold.
Free shipping onaper-product basis
Apply this tactic tostimulate customers tobuy certain products that you want tosell out.
Slow-selling products. For example, sneakers inanunpopular color. It’s agreat way tosell old stock.- The most popular products with
low-cost shipping.
Tip: You can also offer free shipping forcertain product variations toencourage customers tobuy more.
Free shipping tocertain locations
Ifyour sales gowell, try this strategy toexpand your customer base. Partner upwith anew shipping service andoffer deliveries toanew region.
Ifyou have customers inHawaii orinAlaska, you can restrict your shipping destinations totheU.S. continent only, just tobesafe on
Asos even separates United States andUnited States Minor Outlying Islands
Learn more: International Shipping: Picking aProvider &Shipping Around theGlobe
Member program
Member programs are increasingly popular. Itmeans you charge customers anannual fee inexchange forfree shipping onsome orall items.
Sam’s Club offers free shipping toprogram members, among other bonuses
Tip: Run aholiday contest andoffer afree membership toattract more attention totheprogram.
Free shipping compensated byhigher prices
Okay, it’s not strictly speaking free shipping. But itisstill agood idea toraise your prices with acouple ofdollars tocompensate foryour shipping costs. The game isworth thecandle because afree shipping label will surely bring more traffic toyour store.
How toImplement Free Shipping inYour 51Ƶ Store
Ifyou’ve been using 51Ƶ forawhile, you have probably noticed theadvanced shipping setting inyour Control panel. You can create multiple shipping methods andspecify destinations, flat rates, anddelivery speed.
Toadd afree shipping option forall orders, just goto. Set theflat rate to$0andname themethod Free Shipping. This way, your customers will see atthecheckout that shipping doesn’t cost them anything.
Toadd afree shipping method foracertain product: Control Panel →Catalog →Edit Product →Tax andShipping →Choose Free Shipping →Save.
Toadd afree shipping method foracertain region: Сontrol Panel →Shipping andPickup →Select theFree Shipping method that you’ve created earlier →Edit →Specify Region →Save.
Toadd afree shipping method fororder over theset sum: Control Panel →Marketing →Discount Coupons →Add New Coupon →Free Shipping →Set uplimits (threshold).
Toadd afree shipping method foragroup ofcustomers (members): Control Panel →Marketing →Discount Coupons →Add New Coupon →Free Shipping. Send thecoupon tomembers only. You can also limit thenumber oftimes they can use it.
Ifyou want topromote free shipping onyour website, use theFree Shipping Icon. This icon will beadded toyour product details page.
Add afree customizable promo bar toyour homepage towelcome your customers with aFree Shipping offer.
Free Shipping Alternatives
When free shipping isnot anoption, you can try other ways toimprove your customers’ attitude towards your shipping terms. Here are acouple ofsuggestions.
Use eco-friendly packaging
Styrofoam, which isused tokeep products safe from damage andextreme temperatures, isheavily polluting theenvironment. Not only isitunsustainable, but its manufacturing process generates alot ofwaste.
Faraday Face uses recyclable andcompostable materials forpackaging
Ifyou have amature attitude towards helping our planet, use fibrous blocking materials such ascorrugated inserts instead ofstyrofoam. And don’t forget totell your customers about it. Ecological problems touch many people’s hearts. Show them you care too.
Related: Everything You Need ToKnow About Packaging
Same-day delivery
Sometimes free shipping isnot what people are looking forinthefirst place.
With big retailers like Amazon people are getting used toreceiving orders within ashort time, soitbecomes more andmore important toprovide fast delivery.
Amazon offers
Ifyou’re alocal business, make
Related: How toGet from Zero toShip: Carriers, Rates andStrategies
Free return/exchange
92% ofcustomers will buy again iftheproduct return process iseasy, and79% ofshoppers want free return shipping. Moreover, 67% ofcustomers check thereturn page before making apurchase. Asyou can see from the, free returns are just asimportant asfree shipping.
When customers see afree shipping label, they automatically think you offer free returns aswell. But that isnot necessarily thecase.
Ifyou can’t offer free shipping, free returns will comfort your customers. Learn how tomake theprocess easier forboth you andcustomers andhow tominimize returns aswell.
Free in-store pickup
Some people love
Use tools like 51Ƶ’s toeasily show your pickup location options tocustomers andincrease conversions onyour website.
Read also: Why You Should Offer
Free shipping can make theshopping experience more pleasant, which inturn may increase thenumber ofloyal customers you have. Make sure you weigh all pros andcons, andcalculate afree shipping threshold properly. And ifyou already offer free shipping toyour customers, I’d love tolearn how itworks foryou.
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