You want more customers and sales, right? It’s not enough to have an amazing, unique product. No matter how good the price is, people just won’t buy it if they have to pay too much for shipping or delivery.

High shipping charges can offset any potential savings and deter customers from purchasing from you. People seriously consider the cost of shipping when making online purchases, so as a business looking to attract more customers, you need to consider it too.

But it doesn’t stop there. If you offer great prices, but visitors feel your shipping rates are expensive, they will often assume the worst — that you are making money on the shipping to make up for the low price — and having people think you are conning them will haver a much great affect on sales than simply charging more for your products in the first place.

You don’t want people to get all the way through the checkout process just to cancel their order at the last minute because of shipping costs. Just as rigid shipping costs can scare away customers, special shipping deals entice them. Here are some ways you can attract more customers and increase profits by offering free shipping on purchases.

Always Offer Free Shipping

One way to attract customers is to never charge for shipping, ever. If you can afford it, this is an excellent policy that shoppers will love, and it will keep them coming back to your website again and again. If you have a lot of competition, offering free shipping will give you just the push you need to steal business from the other guys. It will also help encourage people to purchase from you rather than going to a local store. The boost in business alone will often be enough to offset any profit loss caused by not charging for shipping. Your customers will absolutely love constant, blanket free shipping, and it will make your company seem friendlier and much more appealing.

Always Offer Free Return Shipping

Another thing that often deters people from making online purchases is the fear that it will be a hassle or costly to return something. If they’re not completely sure about a purchase, they may abandon it completely because they don’t want to have to pay extra to return it. To entice people to make the purchase even when they’re unsure, always offer free shipping for returns. This is especially helpful for clothing, when people usually prefer to shop where they can try things on before committing. By including a free return label, and even free return packaging, you’ll encourage more purchases.

Run Shipping Specials

If you’re not ready to offer all free shipping all the time, consider running special offers. There are lots of different ways to do this. If you offer free shipping for a minimum purchase amount, it may encourage people to buy an extra item that they wouldn’t have otherwise. If you offer free shipping on certain items, you can help clear stock or move the items you want. If you offer free shipping for people who sign up to be members, you can boost your mailing list and attempt to reel customers in to be regulars. If you have brick-and-mortar stores, you can offer free shipping if a customer will go and pick up their purchase there. You could also offer free shipping to people on their first orders, for example, and hopefully they’ll be so pleased with the experience that they purchase from you again, even if it costs.

 

Guest Post by Terry Ford

Terry works with small business owners on Customer Service, SEO, and other marketing strategies. For clear communication, she uses the world’s best grammar checker.

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