Why Does Free Shipping Matter to E-commerce Sellers

Free shipping has already become an essential trend for online shopping. 
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Last update:

May 31, 2023

Shipping strategy plays a vital role for E-commerce sellers, and a good E-commerce seller should have certain shipping strategies to drive up the store’s conversion rates.

Nowadays, more and more online E-commerce sellers are willing to offer their customers a “shipping on us” strategy. According to the relevant data, 69% of merchants provided the free shipping option. 59% of buyers indicated that including shipping service would affect their purchase decision.

Therefore, the E-commerce delivery with no costs strategy has already become an important trend for online shopping. 

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What is E-commerce Free Shipping? 

E-commerce free shipping means that sellers pay for the shipping fees for customers who made purchases through their stores. 

Shipping for free is like an incentive for buyers; it drives buyers to purchase more stuff and improves their shopping frequency. 

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How Does Free Shipping Work? 

Is free shipping really free? The answer would be no. The shipping is free because the retailers will include the shipping cost from purchases. 

Retailers usually would set requirements or conditions for free shipping. The most common ways for sellers to promote free shipping are: 

  • Get free delivery when you spend over $60 
  • Free shipments for all items today, no minimum spending requirements

How to set up the online free delivery rule is based on your profits and the cost of shipping. There are no set rules for merchants. 

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How do E-commerce Sites Offer Free Shipping? 

Free shipping means the shipping fee is free for your customers, but it does not mean the sellers must take the loss. How can sellers offer free shipping?

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Increase the Price 

In most situations, the retailers would increase the price of the product in order to offer a “shipping on us” option. Let’s say your item was $15, and the shipping cost is $5. The merchant will boost the item price up to $20 and tell customers that we offer free shipping. By saying such things, it sounds more appealing to customers and makes them purchase more. 

Lower Your Shipping Cost  

Besides raising the price of shipping, many sellers may still wonder how do sellers afford free shipping. The quick answer would be to lower your shipping cost. 

If you’d like to ship items directly from carriers like USPS, FedEx, and UPS. The retail price would be very expensive. 

However, they are so many different ways for you to save the shipping cost. A web-based shipping discount software would be very helpful. Shipping software collaborates with major carriers, and they get low rates for shipping labels if you purchase from them. 

The software ShipSaving is a good one for you to try. ShipSaving can save you up to 89% off USPS shipping costs without any hidden fees. 

Get Free Packaging 

To be frank, packaging is one of the factors to consider when it comes to free shipping. Most retailers will also add up the packaging cost to the item price. The good news is that carrier stores provide free shipping supplies. You may find free shipping boxes, pouches, and envelopes from carriers’ offline stores. 

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Final Words 

Free shipping is an effective way to boost sales without any doubts. If sellers want to incorporate free delivery strategies into their online stores, they must find better ways to minimize the delivery cost. ShipSaving is a free tool to save on E-commerce shipping costs. Register a free account to start your saving journey!

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Written on:

May 11, 2023
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