Why should I offer free shipping?
Numerous studies have shown that offering free shipping can increase conversion rates and encourage customers to buy more items or spend more money on their purchases.
Benefits of offering free shipping
- Increased sales: Customers are more likely to make a purchase when they see that shipping is free, even if the price of the item is slightly higher than competitors. This can lead to increased sales, higher conversion rates, and more repeat customers.
- Improved customer loyalty: Offering free shipping can create a positive customer experience, which can lead to increased loyalty and repeat business. Customers may also be more likely to recommend your store to others, which can help drive new business.
- Competitive advantage: In many markets, free shipping has become the standard, and customers may choose competitors over your store if they do not offer free shipping. By offering free shipping, you can stay competitive and attract more customers.
- Simplified checkout: By including the cost of shipping in the price of the item, you can simplify the checkout process for customers and reduce cart abandonment rates.
How do I price my products for free shipping?
When offering free shipping, it's important to ensure that your prices are set at a level that allows you to cover the cost of shipping without sacrificing profitability. In order to assist with this, Foraged has created a Free Shipping Calculator to assist you in pricing your products for maximum profit margins.
Additional strategies to price your products for free shipping
- Calculate your margins: Determine the profit margins for each product and factor in the cost of shipping when setting prices. This can help you determine the minimum price point you need to maintain profitability.
- Adjust prices strategically: Consider adjusting your prices slightly to account for the cost of shipping. For example, you could increase the price of high-margin products or reduce the price of lower-margin products to maintain profitability.
- Consider your competitors: Research your competitors' pricing strategies to ensure that your prices are competitive, even with the added cost of shipping. You may need to adjust your prices to stay competitive, while still maintaining profitability.
- Test and monitor: Monitor your sales and adjust your prices as needed. You may need to test different pricing strategies to find the optimal balance between profitability and customer demand.
Example: Fresh apples at $5/lb and $25 average shipping cost will translate to $30 and Free Shipping for 1 pound.
How to set up free shipping on a Foraged product
- Log into your Vendor Dashboard.
- Navigate to the Products tab in the left-side menu. Choose a product that you'd like to add free shipping to or create a new product.
- At the bottom of the Edit Product page, go to the Shipping Methods section and select Free Shipping.
- After ensuring that the product listing is completely filled out, hit Save at the top of the page.
That's it! You are ready to start making more sales.