Customer Experience

The Seed Change of Shipping Fees

Sorry to rant but I can’t help it. This is a constant pet-peeve and, if you have anything to do with a retail website, you should listen up.

IMHO, the difference between a good website and a great website is the experience. When it comes to online shopping, sure there are ways to make browsing better but at the end of the day, it’s all about the check-out. Were you up-front with the total cost? Was it easy for me to get my stuff and get on to the next thing I need to do? Did you give me the ability to do it all in one-screen or did I have to page through a whole bunch of optional and promotional screens?

Well, this morning, I decided I need some new stationery. I want something that looks classy but is economical, given my employment situation. I googled “discount stationery” and up came a bunch of sites. I clicked on American Stationery, which was one of the top links. I quickly browsed a bunch of different options and found one that I really liked. It was a little bit more than I wanted to pay, but it was unique and I really liked the colors and the envelope liner. Plus, they threw in the printing of return address on the envelopes. Okay, off I go to check-out. The usual – register, shipping address info, next, next. Total cost: $68. Great, I’m in. Next screen, confirm shipping address. Got it. Credit card info, check. Then the confirmation screen appears and it is at this point, before I hit the money button, that I find out the shipping charge is an additional $11! What the f? Three screens before that, they said the total cost is $68? But it’s not. It is in fact $79. You’re telling me, American Stationery, that you want me to pay an additional 16% for shipping? I am so sorry but I DON’T THINK SO! Actually, that is not only annoying but insane. How can shipping cost them $11 for a tiny little box of notecards? It is one of the major problems I have with online shopping.

Let me talk to you about a site that does it right. Nordstrom’s online. Here’s how they do it. Flat rate. $5. All the time. You order $50 of stuff – five bucks. $500 worth of stuff – 5 bucks. It’s that easy and, as a frequent online shopper, they get most of my business because the shipping is a flat rate (and returns are free.)

My advice to you, online retailers, is this – figure out how to make shipping cheaper and easier for your customers and, guess what, they will come back. I would love to know how many abandoned shopping carts are strewn across the internet because of shipping charges. There is a price to be paid for convenience but each consumer has a tipping point where they’d rather just get in their car or walk to the store to go get it. Online retailers need to think about how they are making the shopping experience valuable for their online shoppers and I would guess ‘value’ to the online shopper means easy, great selection and economical.

So, you lost my business, American Stationery. Maybe if you had put the shipping charge up-front I would have been okay with it. Maybe I would have left anyway (probably the case). With the holidays around the corner and a recession in the mix, figuring out how to entice shoppers to buy seems like a no-brainer. If you’re an online retailer, why not test out a variety of shipping promotions? Free shipping days, flat rates, free shipping on certain dollar amounts. Test it out and see what works. Something tells me that providing free or minimal shipping charges will lead to a more profitable customer down the line.

My $.02.

Tags: Experience, online shopping
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