Tldr: customers would rather sell the soul of their first-born child than pay for shipping.
Everyone loves free shipping (that's right; our gross generalization includes the 2.6 billion people worldwide who don't even have access to the internet, and also yo mama). But why do people love free shipping... other than the fact that it's purportedly free?
We're looking at the sneaky psychology behind free shipping, so you can decide on the best way to use it for your e-commerce store!
1. Free Shipping Feels Like a Gift (and We Love Gifts)
If it's free, it's for you and meeeeee
When customers are shopping online and see the words “Free Shipping,” it’s like the store is saying to them personally, “Hey, buddy, here’s a little gift for you”, which makes customers feel a little something like "Gee friend, that's awfully kind of you!", but of course they don't actually say that because then they'd be anthropomorphizing a commercial enterprise (and that's the kind of slippery slope that leads to becoming addicted to furry porn).
Instead of replying verbally, customers tend to respond psychologically... with something called "the reciprocity principle". Basically, this means customers feel an urge to pay back whoever has given them a gift. In the case of online retail, this translates to possibly adding a few more items to the order. Not even Santa Claus is immune from the "reciprocity principle": we don't just abstain from year-round debauchery so as to convince the guy to give us free presents --we also offer him cookies and milk in exchange.
Here's how you can use this to your advantage: when customers feel like they're getting something for free, they're inclined to purchase more.
It’s like when you go to Basking Robins and they give you a tiny spoon-sized sample of ice cream for free. Next thing you know, you're walking out with a 'quadruple-scoop diabetes-supreme' waffle cone of Rocky Road while everyone sings you happy birthday, even though it's not your birthday yet.
2. The Pain of Paying
When your customer suddenly remembers how much they paid for shipping, which causes them to immediately blow out their back.
It’s strange, but a $5 shipping fee feels far worse than spending $5 on coffee (especially if you justify the latter as necessary for survival, due to your debilitating caffeine addiction).
Known as the “pain of paying,” this is the feeling we get when a cost doesn’t seem worth it. To customers, shipping fees feel like a random extra cost, as opposed to a coffee or anything else they willingly buy... which makes the shipping fee harder to justify. Free shipping takes away this “pain,” so the whole purchase feels better --even if customers end up spending a bit more overall!
So how can we weaponize “free shipping"? By baking the cost of shipping right into item price, then offering “free shipping” on it. Does it sound unethical? Yes! Is everyone and their mother doing it? Also yes!
Suddenly customers feel like they're getting a great deal, instead of feeling like they're getting scammed by shipping fees, and you can spend less time answering emails from salty customers complaining about the price of shipping.
3. Why Free Shipping Minimums Make Us Buy More
"You paid for shipping?! You fool. You absolute maroon. You've not only dishonored your family, but you've brought shame to us all."
Free shipping minimums -like “Free shipping on orders over $50”- are basically an e-commerce’s version of a carnival game: they seem simple, but they’re rigged to make customers overspend. Customers are so close to “free” shipping that paying for it feels like losing a battle they didn’t even realize they were fighting.
That's why smart stores set the minimum just a smidge above what most people usually spend, pushing shoppers to purchase more in order to dodge the dreaded shipping fee.
Behavioral economists call this phenomenon "mental accounting," but we call it “math gymnastics.” Instead of seeing the shipping fee as part of your overall cost, your brain does some quick mental kung fu to rationalize spending more on random junk to “save.” MIT researches even found that free shipping promos can increase spending by up to 30%, which is ironic because customers leave thinking, “Wow, I’m so good at saving money!” while having spent more than they would have otherwise.
Free shipping isn’t magic --even if its psychological effects are borderline witchcraft. If you want to wield that kind of inhuman power to grow your e-commerce store, without trading away your mortal body or sanity, Mix-Mix Mail is here for you! We handle the packing, the shipping, and everything else, so you can focus on important things: like figuring out how much sin Santa Claus will allow before he cuts off our supply of free presents.