Sometimes I harken back to when free shipping became a phenomenon online. For me, it was L.L. Bean’s announcement in 2011 that all orders would ship for free. Not everything lasts forever, as their current policy is free shipping with a $50 threshold or being part of their credit card program. But ultimately, Nordstrom extended free shipping that same year, which turned the tables, causing many other retailers to follow suit.

And in fact, a look at the Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000 database reinforces that 74.4% of retailers have some sort of free shipping. Just 20.4% had unconditional free shipping for all orders, while 45.1% had free shipping when shoppers reached a dollar threshold. Lastly, 14.5% had another pre-requisite which often includes being part of a loyalty program.

Over the years, surveys from Digital Commerce 360 and Bizrate Insights have shown the importance of free shipping to online shoppers. As recently as January 2022, we asked 1,108 online shoppers about the attributes or conditions most likely to lead them to place an order on a retailer’s website. Free shipping topped the list at 76%. That’s even higher than the right price (73%), in-stock products (54%) and product selection and trust in the brand (tied at 53%).