Dive Brief:
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Nearly all consumers (93%) consider shipping options when it comes to holiday shopping— up 23% from 2014—and most will go out of their way to obtain free shipping, according the latest survey from Pitney Bowes. Significantly, 88% of those surveyed said free shipping within a five- to seven-day delivery window is preferable to paying for one- or two-day delivery.
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Tracking is expected, this survey finds. Nearly all shoppers (98%) track their package online for an estimated time of delivery. More shoppers track their orders via email (39%) than mobile (30%) or a retailer’s website (28%).
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Some 80% say that coupons or promo codes lead to more online purchases and 60% say they’ve boosted their spending to qualify for free shipping. There’s strong desire to bring returns to the store rather than deal with shipping, with 39% saying they prefer that.
Dive Insight:
Same-day delivery may be the new frontier of fulfillment for many retailers, but, for the holidays at least, shoppers are overwhelmingly opting for saving money over speedy delivery, according to this survey.
That makes sense, really. Shopping for gifts isn’t oriented around immediate gratification and for many is an organized process with something of a budget attached.
Yet not all retailers offer free shipping and many still have high minimums. Many shoppers may gravitate to those that have some avenue to free shipping — even contemplating a membership that gets them there. In fact, Pitney Bowes characterized shoppers as willing to do “what it takes” to get free shipping.
The Pitney Bowes third annual Holiday Shipping Survey was conducted by ORC International last month and polled more than 1,000 U.S. adults on their attitudes toward shopping and shipping leading up to the holidays.