As consumers – we have all seen the tactics –

“Add to cart to see final price”
“Call for price”
“Flat-rate shipping”
“Economy shipping free – you want it near your house, $$$$)

Working with retailers – we often hear, “I’ll just roll it into the price of the product”.

Really (to them all)??!

I remember the days where we could use “Free Shipping” as a genuine sales incentive. It brought deals in. Cart abandonment rated dropped. Conversions went up. All the metrics improved and sales – yep, up.

Not too long ago I was sitting with the retail owner with 9 stores. He said “Jesse, I remember when we would put sales and promotions in Thursday’s paper, and the weekend would bring predictable volume per store based on what we pushed. Absolutely predictable. Every week.” Free shipping used to be that equally predictable (within reason). We knew if we offered it on items, we knew the metrics then to apply to calculate the lift in sales volume. We then knew the profitability in that lift, calculated necessary ad spend – and hit the buttons. Magic.

Not really – but it was crazy fun! (Like base jumping – wing suit kinda fun)

Guess what – things change. To think any other is the true definition of insanity. Free shipping (then) was not an expectation. Today. 2020 – it’s a norm reinforced by PRIME consumer conditioning. Free Shipping has become expected; if not expected, at minimum a very compelling (and frequent) disqualifier to you.

Before we dive in any further, we need to stop; take off the retail professional hat and put on the consumer hat. Hat on firmly (like strong wind firm) – what are your “motivators” to buy online from one site over another? Product? Absolutely. The coffee table I want. (However – it’s the same table from the same brand name vendor. Gone are the days of “hiding” anything. Vendor image, name, SKU, Dimensions? Yep – it can be found). Availability. Yep. Available. (Actually in-stock matters. Remember PRIME). Price. Yep priced right. It is a bit more – but that is ok (justified) as this site has a “better feel” (covered next). Does the site “feel” right – meaning it looks “kept”, feels safe, platform operates as it should, the overall experience was better than others. (If I hit a site and the Copyright says anything than current year, I’m gone. Details matter. That is obvious, and if they are missing that – what else are they missing?? Like I’ll give them my credit card number).

Click click click.

All set. Ok, Check. Add to cart. Wait. Any hidden fees? Shipping? Sales Tax? – All final variables in in my decision. Submit. I now wait and listen for the drone.

While I glazed over many fundamentals of the journey – AS A CONSUMER you can all relate. Also – I must mention the urge to fight the retail professional in us and justify “we are better” on the abstract. CONSUMER HAT IS ON! Don’t justify – just relate. For now.

What are the differentiators when all have the same product, comparable price, same web platform (there are only so many), same product imagery, content, catch phrases, whatever? What really matters? Remember (again) fight off the retail professional in you. Fight it! As a consumer what really matters? Product. Absolutely. Availability. Absolutely. Acceptable user experience (all things click click click feel “right”). A must. Price. What else is there? Local proximity – yes. I believe that is a huge differentiator. Maybe the only one. (Another topic for another day). But to the retailer who views ecommerce as this gold rush vast open prairie – it is price. There are pass/fail must haves; and then it is price. Consumer hat on still. Am I wrong? STOP. Without question – Yes; a consumer is willing to pay a bit more as the other experience variables and musts are stack-ranked in one’s risk adversity portfolio”. Same product. Safe, secure site. Click click click is without error – feels “right”. Product is available. Unless you have brand affinity like Patagonia, Apple, others – it is price. Very scary. Business model challenging scary.

Let’s peel back the onion. Free shipping. Certain products (sticking with my coffee table); it is a psychological fact that most shoppers are still more accustomed to the physical store purchase than the online environment. Without question – the bar is moving. Guess what – it always has been. COVID forced exponential adoption of what is now acceptable in an ecommerce empowered retail world. Just a few years ago – you think someone would buy a car online? Today I can order it and have it delivered with a 30-day guarantee. But we are “wired” a certain way. Yes – {insert generation} is more this that and the other, sure. But we are all wired. There is no shipping in-store. Shipping is free. Your brain is just expecting of certain things. Another very importantly aspect – free shipping is key variable in helping us rationalize buying something online and breaking that pattern. “I can have it and it ships free. I can return it. No risk. Click.”

(OK, retail hat back on) Retailers (you) are faced with the fact that a certain mix of their (your) offerings are products at a price. That is it. It is a fact. The same coffee table from the same vendor from 10 different retailers. Tell me price isn’t it. If you all have it (or can “ship it”). Accept it. But there is a win in all this. We figured it out ears ago. Find and focus on ways to increase that cart value. Margins per item are down – get more volume! Upsell. Cross sell. Get on the phone with every customer that buys online. “Did you see the rug that went with that table?”. (Maybe not every order – maybe?!!!). Focus on LTV of the customer. Future business. Next, find lines where shipping is still palatable in the sales proposition. Special order (hint)… The model has evolved – it is still retail!

What is the message in all this? I get it – panic and frustration. But you need to act – and you can. Free Shipping is a fact. You may not be able to offer free shipping on every purchase, but you should make it an option at some order value. Especially make it “apples to apples” with the competition. Try new ways. “Add another item to qualify for free shipping”. There are ways. Avoid trickery. Be transparent. Don’t insult with “tiers” that are nothing but your efforts to funnel the consumer to revenue. Look at your competition on product and price. You really think you can bury the shipping? Find that Free Shipping threshold and implement it. Don’t fight consumer behavior expectations. Find ways and conversions will go up.

Retail on!