Majority of Consumers Willing to Wait If Shipping Is Free

Today’s consumers are willing to wait longer to receive purchases made online if it means shipping is free, this according to a new survey by UPS and comScore.

According to the third annual joint survey, which polled 5,849 consumers this past February and March, four out of five respondents said free shipping is an important consideration when buying online, with 83% saying they were willing to wait an extra two days or more if it meant they did not have to pay for shipping.

More than half of consumers said they would choose a slower delivery time to get free shipping.

Retailers have to provide reasonable delivery schedules, UPS and comScore found, because consumers will not wait forever.  Half of those surveyed said they have abandoned an online shopping carts because of lengthy delivery times or no date provided at check out.

More than half of respondents said they will opt for ship-to-store at some point — with 40% of those consumers making other purchases during their visit — while one in four packages shipped are directed at a location other than the home address (i.e. carrier retail stores, retail outlets, office).

An additional 82% of shoppers liked the option of being able to return the product to the store or ship it back using a free prepaid label.

With channel choice mattering less than convenience and flexibility — and with repeated improvements to shipping and fulfillment capabilities — the survey found that retailers need to differentiate themselves by delivering both compelling online and in-store experiences and exceptional service.

Bala Ganesh, director of marketing for UPS, said consumers are asking for more shipping destination options, including ship to store, to the office or to a family member.  “This trend fits in with people’s busy lifestyles, and their demand for convenience and flexibility,” he said.

Retailers have some work to do in the customer experience area, comScore and UPS found:

Fifty-nine percent of consumers said they were satisfied with the ability to find a customer service phone number or other contact option during the search/browse phase of their shopping experience;

Fifty percent of consumers said they were satisfied with making a return and the clarity of retailers policies;

Forty-four percent were satisfied with the post-shipment flexibility to choose another delivery date, while 43% are content with the ability to reroute  package; and

Sixty percent of shoppers were satisfied with the ability to find a retailer’s return policy.

The growing impact of m-commerce was also seen in the survey findings: 40% of mobile users said they look for or redeem coupons on their devices, while 36% said they compare prices in store on their smartphones.

However, laptop/desktop remains the primary choice for both researching products (61% of respondents) and purchasing (44%), in contract to 21% and 11% for smartphones and tables respectively.

Retailer’s return policies are also being checked out by consumers prior to purchase, while pursuing options for free shipping, said Susan Engleson, senior director at comScore.

“Two years ago, 17% of consumers said they did not look at a retailers’ return policy before purchasing, but this year it was just 11%.” Engleson said.

Engleson continued, “More 90% said they would take action to qualify for free shipping, 58% said they would add more items to their cart to qualify, and 50% said they would choose the slowest shipping time to qualify.”

Engleson said the desire of consumers for a full range of delivery options at checkout, and for convince and flexible returns, should be key areas of focus for retailers.

Some comparison of matrices from past surveys:

  • Overall satisfaction with online shopping stayed the same from 2013, at 83%;
  • Since 2012, retail returns volumes have grown (62% say they have returned/exchanged an item bought online in the 2014 study versus 51% in 2012); and
  • Online shopping cart abandonment has grown (90% have abandoned an online shopping cart in 2014 versus 88% in 2013).

Recommendations made in the report are for retailers to improve the customer experience from a fulfillment standpoint:

  • Provide easy access to the returns policy throughout the site and in post-purchase communications;
  • Make customer service contacts readily available;
  • Offer different shipping options to accommodate shopper needs;
  • Display the expected delivery date in the shopping cart;
  • Assess whether you can absorb free shipping costs as a marketing expense, and how to preserve margin while remaining competitive;
  • Include a return label in the box, or at least make it easy for shoppers to print a return label from your website;
  • Let shoppers know about availability on both the product page and in the shopping cart; and
  • Provide notification tools (email, text) when items become available to capture sales.

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