Online retailers gamble that free shipping will boost sales
09.02.41
Americans love shopping online, but we hate paying for shipping.
We gleefully click "add to cart" as we browse from page-to-page, but when it comes time to check out and the shipping charges are totaled, many of us gape at our screens and abandon our shopping carts.
Shipping charges are the main reason online consumers fail to close the deal, according to Forrester Research. Among shoppers who bailed out, 44 percent said shipping costs were the reason, the Forrester survey found.
Our collective distaste for paying mailing fees is one reason online stores feature free shipping promotions, particularly during the holiday season. And now a small but growing number of online retailers are waiving shipping charges on all purchases, all the time.
Last month, L.L.Bean joined those ranks. The company started in 1912 by a Maine outdoorsman selling hunting boots had offered free shipping promotions before rolling out a long-term trial August through Christmas.
Source: Palm Beach Post