The More Pure the Free Shipping Offer, the Better

Forty-one percent of the more than 10,000 survey respondents cited free shipping as the primary factor in their holiday purchase decision-making. Seventy-nine percent went so far as to say it influenced them to choose one retail site over another.

Among the key findings:
• Free shipping without restrictions is a powerful tool for increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• When offered with restrictions or limitations (e.g., when tied to dollar value of purchase), free shipping does not significantly impact customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Free shipping without restrictions is a powerful conversion tool for first-time buyers.
• 63 percent of online holiday shoppers remembered seeing free shipping offers, 24 percent said it wasn’t offered to them, and 13 percent couldn’t remember.