Survey: Free shipping still drives online purchases

Reston, Va. - Online shoppers around the world want the ability to search and shop on multiple channels and devices, expect to see alternate delivery and payment options, and when it comes to shipping and returns, “free” is a driving factor to complete the sale. According to the second UPS Pulse of the Online Study conducted with comScore Inc., American online shoppers are open to new trends on social media and in-store technologies, making more purchases on tablets than any other market.



Free shipping continues to drive purchasing decisions as 58% of online shoppers reported adding items to their shopping cart in order to qualify for the incentive. Further, 83% are willing to wait an additional two days for delivery if shipping is free, and 68% said free returns shipping is needed to complete a sale. Only 44% of online shoppers said they were satisfied with the flexibility of changing delivery days or rerouting packages.



European online shoppers are gradually embracing emerging technologies. They make the fewest purchases on a smartphone (19%) compared to the other four markets and less than half (40%) use retailer mobile apps. They make more in-store purchases (54%) than they do online, and while shopping in a store, 61% prefer to check out with an associate. In response to delivery questions, 52% said they prefer seeing the expected arrival date rather than the number of days it will take for the item to arrive.



“Consumers demand more from their package delivery experience, and today’s online shopper expects us to respond by creating solutions that are convenient for them,” said Alan Gershenhorn, UPS executive VP and chief commercial officer.