Did you hear the news that Walmart is going to offer free shipping? They recently announced that they would offer free two-day shipping on 2 million items for orders that are more than $35. Why is this important? Because the facts are mounting that offering better shipping options increases business, especially for orders made through an online shopping cart such as a web-to-print portal.
In this hyper competitive price world, that may seem counter intuitive. But there are many online posts and studies that show that pricing alone is not the only determining factor in who wins the work. You have to consider ordering convenience and shipping options.
An article on the Firepush website says that shipping options are not just important but essential. They claim:
- 96% of customers said that a good delivery experience would influence repeat sales.
- 66% of shoppers stated they would choose one retailer over another simply because of better shipping.
- 51% said they had abandoned their on-line order at checkout because of poor or too few delivery options.
In a Pitney Bowes holiday study, it was reported that:
- 93% said that shipping was an important factor in their online shopping experience (up a huge 24% since 2014).
- 3 in 5 reported that they have increased their total spending to qualify for free shipping.
Finally, UPS has been talking for years about the importance of specific shipping features to customers, such as:
- 75% of people say it’s important to offer tracking information.
- 70% added more products to the cart to qualify for free shipping.
- 67% say that they choose the most economical delivery option, but still want to see all the choices.
- 54% say they leave because the estimated delivery date is too long (5 days or more).
- 41% said receiving their product when expected led to a good recommendation.
- 24% said they abandoned their carts because the delivery date wasn’t provided at checkout.
When was the last time you considered upgrading your shipping options? If Walmart is reevaluating and changing their shipping, why aren’t you?
