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Free shipping from websites
Wall Street Journal looks at the increasing demand for "free shipping" for online purchases.
Free shipping has already become standard practice for certain retailers, like footwear and apparel sites Zappos.com and Shoebuy.com. Now, as competition heats up, free is becoming the new normal across even more sites....
Retailers are jumping on the free-shipping bandwagon because it is a proven way to catch shoppers' attention. The strategy is also an attempt to cut down on the huge number of virtual shopping carts that are abandoned at check-out. Indeed, a May survey by eBay Inc.'s Paypal found that 46% of shoppers claimed high shipping charges—more than any other reason—was why they ditched potential purchases in online shopping carts.
But free shipping can mean huge costs—and headaches—for merchants: Shipping cost Amazon.com $630 million last year. Amazon offers free "Super Saver" shipping to all customers for many purchases of more than $25.
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