Back in the old days, when a visitor would land on an eCommerce site that offered free shipping they'd become quite excited, it was as if they had just won the lottery. Fast forward to 2016 and well, things are pretty much the same. Online shoppers still love free shipping and will do just about anything to get it.

A 2015 study by Canada Post shed some light on how Canadian consumers feel about free shipping:

66% will sacrifice speedy delivery in exchange for free shipping 58% will have items delivered to a post office to receive free shipping or cut down on shipping costs Online merchants that didn’t offer free shipping saw a 50% decrease in conversion rate

But that doesn’t mean that offering free shipping constitutes a shipping strategy. It’s only a piece, albeit a rather crucial one, of the puzzle. There are other factors that must come into consideration when deciding on a strategy, such as expected delivery dates.

The following stats have been taken from multiple different studies, showing how consumers view shipping times:

16% of Canadian online shoppers abandoned their cart due to longer delivery times 51% of Canadian online shoppers would shop more frequently if shipping were faster Canadians Shoppers are willing to wait 8 days if they received free shipping or 5 if they paid for it 26% of online shoppers have abandoned their carts because shipping time was too high 18% of consumers say fast delivery is the biggest factor in choosing their favorite store

And, don’t forget to showcase expected shipping times and rates right on the cart page, before the checkout process starts. There is nothing more annoying as a customer than having to input all your information only to find that shipping rates are too high.

Studies show that 44% of customers will abandon their carts for this reason. Stats like this are flooded over the net, yet so little stores display shipping costs upfront. Why?

Over the next couple of years, online merchants have to step up their shipping game, especially since same day delivery is starting to gain traction.

Bringg says that over the next 5 years, 50% of online businesses plan on offering same day delivery, and by 2018 the value of merchandise for same day delivery will be over $4 billion–meaning, the amount consumers are willing to spend goes up big time if same day delivery is offered.

So, having said all that, think it's time to update your shipping strategy?

Image courtesy of Bench Accounting