What if we tell you that you can offer free shipping to your customers and still make a lot more money than you used to when you charged for shipping? Yup, that's right. Offering free shipping has its perks, and here's a detailed look into how free shipping can be beneficial for your e-commerce business:
Types of free shipping you can offer
When you think of free shipping, your mind automatically goes to the free one-day priority shipping. No, that would cost you a massive chunk of your profit. Here are some commonly opted free shipping options by many e-commerce owners:
Free, slow-ground shipping
The name says it all. You can offer free shipping and inform your customers that the items will take around these many days to reach your destination. You can club the orders and drop them off at the delivery office. You can also check for bulk shipping options and save some pennies.
In this kind of free shipping method, the customer makes an informed decision, benefiting both parties. A win-win, we say.
But the method will only work if you are dealing with food items or items that might go stale if delivered on time. Further, if the cart size is too small, it makes no sense to keep the customer waiting. In this case, you can offer an additional offer wherein the customer can pay a reduced amount to upgrade their shipping option to a fast and priority option.
1- Free shipping after a minimum amount
The most common free shipping option offered by e-commerce platforms is free shipping after you purchase for a certain amount. This will help you cover the shipping cost and ensure the customer purchases more. The customer often sees it this way: I can get an item or two more instead of the shipping amount I will pay if I buy an item alone. Well, it works out for both of you, and it's certainly a free shipping option you can consider. You could also club it with the free, slow-ground shipping option to turn the tide in your favor.
2- Raising the item prices to include the shipping price
Many times, e-commerce owners raise the price of the items to include the shipping fee and set a minimum purchase amount. This way, the customer still pays for their shipping, but you can advertise that it's free shipping for all orders.
The strategy works great for hand-made or custom orders special to your online store. However, the strategy might only work well in your favor if your products consist of commonly available items. The customer would know the usual prices and prefer to avoid buying them from your store.
3- Fast and free shipping for select customers
You can offer fast and free shipping to customers with a lot in their cart, and the margin ensures that you get a good profit and have some left to spend for the shipping. Have your website set up to calculate the minimum profit the cart should give, and then let free and fast shipping be applied to all the customers whose cart satisfies this criterion. Not only will the customers be excited to save some pennies, but they will also return and purchase more to avail of the offer. Those incredible savings will really brighten up their mood.
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