Black Friday shoppers are naturally looking for a great deal, but the price of the item isn’t the only factor that can influence their purchase decision. Delivery costs can make a good deal feel less appealing, but free shipping can give online shoppers one more reason to click “Buy”.

With Black Friday now just around the corner, offering free shipping could be a straightforward way to make your listings stand out, and encourage shoppers to complete their purchase rather than abandon their carts. 

Why does free shipping make a difference? 

When shoppers compare similar products, they don’t just look at the product price. They also consider the overall service you offer, including what they’ll have to pay to get their item delivered.

A product with a slightly higher price but free shipping can sometimes feel like a better deal than a cheaper product with an additional delivery fee. That’s because free shipping is perceived as having a high value, even if shipping isn’t actually that pricey. 

Free shipping also removes one more calculation from the buying process, making the total cost easier for shoppers to understand. It feels like less admin, and lets buyers focus on the sticker price. 

On Bob Shop, products offering free shipping  display a Free Shipping badge in search results, making your listings more visible to buyers who are actively looking for a deal. If you sell similar items to other sellers, this could make the difference between a “maybe” and a “add to cart!” 

You don’t have to offer free shipping on everything

Free shipping doesn’t necessarily mean absorbing delivery costs across your entire range. 

ou’ll find that people typically prefer to spend money on an item rather than on shipping. If a buyer is already close to your free shipping threshold, they’re likely to reason that they would have spent the money anyway, so why not spend it on something tangible rather than pay a delivery fee?  

In other words, a carefully calculated threshold can make the offer more sustainable while encouraging shoppers to add more to their baskets. 

Consider which products would benefit most from the offer. You can also use a limited-time version of a free shipping offer, and link this to the savings you’re offering for Black Friday to come up with an even more compelling proposition. 

Make your best Black Friday deals even more appealing

Free shipping can work particularly well alongside a strong Black Friday price cut.

If you’re already offering a competitive price on a product, adding free shipping can make the overall offer even more persuasive. It can also help your listing compete with equivalent products where the buyer is comparing final costs. 

Think about the products you’re planning to promote this Black Friday and ask yourself:

• Is the product competitively priced?
• Do I have enough stock to meet increased demand?
• Could free shipping make the offer more attractive?
• Are my shipping costs and delivery expectations clearly communicated? 
• Can my online business absorb the additional shipping costs? 

Use free shipping strategically

Black Friday is all about giving shoppers even more reasons to buy, and sometimes it’s the little extras that can make the difference.

Instead of automatically offering free shipping across your entire catalogue, consider using it strategically on products where it makes commercial sense. You could focus on popular products, products with healthy margins, or items you’d like to move more quickly. Free shipping can help you sell excess stock, or items that are similar to those being offered by other sellers. 

Most importantly, build trust by ensuring your listings give buyers all the information they need to make a purchase decision in complete confidence. Competitive pricing, accurate stock counts, clear titles, high-quality images, honest descriptions and fast, reliable and convenient shipping all work together to create a better shopping experience.

Ready to make your Black Friday listings stand out?

Take a look at your range and identify the products where free shipping could give your offer an extra edge. A great Black Friday deal isn’t only about how much a buyer saves on the product – instead, it’s about the value of the complete offer. 

Get your listings ready, make your offers count and give shoppers one more reason to choose your products this Black Friday.