Should You Offer Free Shipping

One of the most popular holiday promotions is a free shipping offer. Other options include limited-time price-cuts, quantity discounts and free promotional items. Choosing the right offer for both your customer base and your company can be the difference between a profitable year and late winter doldrums.

A new study from ComScore can help you decide. For an in-depth discussion of the role a free shipping offer plays in the buying process—both over the holidays and year round—read the blog article: Free Shipping this Holiday Season: Margin Eater or Opportunity for Retailers?

For even more information about the current retail environment, watch the ComScore webinar State of the Online Retail Environment, or just download the slides. (You’ll be asked to provide name, business address and phone to view the webinar or the slides.)

The presentation provides an overview and analysis of consumer online spending patterns from early 2008 through the third quarter of 2009. The last section focuses on this holiday season, providing statistics on questions like: plans for holiday spending, reasons for spending less, holiday travel plans, popular promotional offers, tactics for boosting profit margins, holiday shopping timing, importance of free shipping, retail predictions for holiday season.