Have you ever felt identified with this meme?
Free shipping is a very powerful marketing tool, it can be the deciding factor between making a sale or having your customers look for products similar to yours on Amazon so that they are at home in two days. But before you want to offer free shipping in your store, it's a good idea to review your numbers so you can create a strategy that fits your profit margins. Next, I leave you three strategies to be able to offer free shipping in your online store.
minimum purchase
This strategy is ideal for businesses that distribute products from other brands or that sell primary and secondary sector products, typically operate with lower profit margins, and have minimal ability to change prices. It is recommended that you establish a minimum purchase amount before offering free shipping, this allows you to cover the cost of shipping with your profit margins and at the same time encourage the customer to spend more money in your store. You can play with things like promotions, packages, and offer products that complement each other. Companies like Amazon use this strategy for members who are not on the Prime service.
Shipping paid for the product
Another way to offer free shipping is to pay for it with the profit margin of your products. This strategy is normally used by businesses with expensive products such as electronics, jewelry, and businesses that sell wholesale in industrial quantities. These are products with very high profit margins or are sold in very large volumes which allows you to absorb the cost of shipping. Companies like Apple implement this strategy to sell their products and even though their products are expensive, you feel like you gained something with free shipping.
Add shipping cost to sale price
This is another strategy widely used in electronic commerce, it is normally used by independent brands that can control the price of their products at their discretion. The only problem with this strategy is that you have to have a sale price that is competitive in the market, if you add the shipping cost and your price is too high, people probably won't buy it. One solution to this is to split the shipping cost between you and the customer, so that you cover part of the shipping cost and still have a competitive price.
Definitely free shipping is a very important factor when selling online, a good costing strategy can be the differentiator between a good product or a hole in your wallet. It is a double-edged sword, knowing how to use it can cut the competition.