Free! Free! Free! (Shipping, that is)

Black Friday is about to be upon us, marking the start of the holiday season. But in today’s world, consumers are changing their shopping habits into micro-moments (short online shopping sessions) rather than the traditional shopping marathon (a long day at the mall).¹ 

According to Google trends, 40% of all holiday shopping happens online² – and 61% of those online holiday shoppers research gift ideas before Thanksgiving, but do not purchase them until later in the holiday season.¹

So when shoppers are finally ready to buy, how can you influence them to take that final step? Free shipping.

Free shipping remains the most important option during the checkout process according to 77% of consumers. In fact, 60% of them will add items to their cart in order to qualify for free shipping.³ Not only do consumers expect free shipping, 66% will check the return policy and 82% said that they would complete the purchase if there was free return shipping. About half even wants to see a return label right in the box!⁴

However, shoppers are not necessarily expecting their shipment to arrive the next day

• The average time consumers are willing to wait for a delivery is 7 days, with 85% willing to wait 5 days or more.
• 50% of consumers will choose a slower transit time to qualify for free shipping.
• However, it is very important to note that you should always provide an estimated delivery date, as 50% of consumer will immediately abandon their cart if they do not see one.⁴

At Shippo we offer the best shipping discounts across major domestic and international carriers, giving you a variety of shipping options. We help keep your shipping costs down so that “free shipping” can be easier on your bottom line. We even offer scan-based return labels that you can put right inside the box, knowing that you won’t get charged if the label isn’t used.

We’re here to make your holiday shipping a cinch this year!

Image: Holiday shoppers 1939. © Bettmann/CORBIS

1. Google Adwords, “2015 Holiday Trends – Shopping Moments Are Replacing Shopping Marathons”. 2015. http://adwords.blogspot.ca/2015/10/2015-holiday-trends-shopping-moments.html

2. Google, “5 Holiday Shopping Trends to Watch in 2015”. 2015. https://think.storage.googleapis.com/images/5-holiday-shopping-trends-to-watch-in-2015-download.pdf

3. comScore/UPS, “UPS Online Shopping Study: Empowered Consumers Changing the Future of Retail”. 2015. https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press-Releases/2015/6/UPS-Online-Shopping-Study-Empowered-Consumers-Changing-the-Future-of-Retail

4. comScore/UPS, “Pulse of the Online Shopper”. 2014. https://www.ups.com/media/en/2014-UPS-Pulse-of-the-Online-Shopper.pdf

Shippo is a multi-carrier API and web app that helps retailers, marketplaces and platforms connect to a global network of carriers. Businesses use Shippo to get real-time rates, print labels, automate international paperwork, track packages and facilitate returns. Shippo provides the tools to help businesses succeed through shipping.