When we think of free shipping, it’s easy to think of the major companies that offer it. Amazon is a key example, which has been offering fast shipping for subscribers since 2005.
However, small businesses can offer free shipping too, and what’s more, they should do. Offering free shipping to your customers as part of your shipping options comes with a whole lot of benefits for them and your business.
In this guide, we’re going to take a look at why offering free shipping to your customers through a reliable courier service is a must in the 2020s. Are you ready to learn more and start improving your business? Then read on!
1. Increase Sales
Free shipping has a big lure for customers. When people are considering whether or not to buy a product, an additional few dollars of shipping costs may be enough to push them away from completing the purchase.
However, free shipping can be enough to make them buy the item, especially if it’s a low-cost item. Even if you increase the price slightly to compensate for shipping costs, the lure of free shipping is hard to resist.
As well as sweetening the deal, free shipping also makes your company look generous. The customer knows that you’re driven by profit and when you add shipping costs, customers can feel as though they’re being ripped off. If you add free shipping, the customer will feel respected.
2. Free Shipping Can Improve Loyalty
Customer loyalty is important for businesses. Loyalty not only builds profits and helps your sales figures, but it also offers sustainability. If you can count on your customers coming back to you over and over again, you can count on their income and factor it into your plans for growth.
This means less risk of a sudden drop in sales, which could spell disaster for your business.
When customers get a good deal through a business, they’re much less likely to look elsewhere. For instance, if you offer free shipping, they know that they’ll always get a good deal through you when compared to other businesses that charge for postage and packing.
Some customers won’t even look elsewhere before they buy. Instead, they’ll come straight to you, which is an incredibly powerful position to be in.
3. It Can Help You Outcompete Your Rivals
As a small business, you are in an acute state of competition at all times with other small businesses, as well as large multinationals. If you want to get an advantage, you need to offer some kind of incentive to your customers.
This is where free shipping comes in handy. Free shipping gives you a serious competitive edge that can help you outcompete your rivals. It can even make you a more attractive proposition than larger companies.
This is a massive advantage to wield. If your rivals are already offering free delivery, they are going to be taking a lot of potential business from you, which you need to win back by offering it yourself.
4. Free Delivery Can Increase Order Size
Offering free shipping doesn’t only help with cart abandonment issues, it can also increase the size of the final order! If customers need to hit a certain price point to qualify for free delivery, they are more likely to throw in something extra to meet the threshold.
Let’s look at it like this. If you have a free shipping threshold of $15, and someone adds an item costing $11.99 to their cart. If shipping costs are $5, there’s a real incentive for them to add something that costs $3-4, as this will save them money on the order while also letting them treat themselves to something extra.
5. You Can Stand Out From the Crowd
Many small businesses assume that free shipping is something that only large companies can afford. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Free shipping is still cost-effective for many small businesses thanks to the increase in sales that it can yield, as well as the increased customer loyalty.
If you partner with a great courier service, such as ourselves, your customers will get fast and reliable delivery that you can afford.
6. Less Confusion for Customers
Let’s say that you send the customer a product and they don’t like it. No one wants this to happen but returns are a fact of life for businesses. If the customer returns it and they want a refund on the shipping, things can get a bit tricky, as you’ll then have to negotiate for a refund with the courier.
However, if you have a blanket policy of free shipping (or free shipping over a certain price threshold), then they aren’t entitled to a refund on shipping which means that you don’t need to seek one either. Instead, you can just offer them a refund for the purchase and get on with your day.
This can also increase customer trust, as there are no questions to be asked about the refund.
7. Low Impact on Bottom Line
Free shipping has a very low impact on your bottom line, especially if you sell items that have a high profit margin. This means that you can take advantage of all the tremendous benefits that we’ve discussed without eating into your profits too much.
Free Shipping Is the Future
Free shipping is essential for small businesses that want to increase their customer base and nurture loyalty. With more and more businesses offering it, you need to be considering it, or you’ll be left behind.
If you’re looking for a reliable courier in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, we’re here to help you. Our expert team can help you on every step of your logistical journey. For more information, contact us today!