Free Shipping, Why So?
Chandler: Hey, I just came across this really cool site LeBooks.in, which offers great discounts on books and also free shipping!
Ross: I also know of this other site, some Indie… Wait did you say FREE shipping??
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Consumers love free shipping, we all do. In fact who doesn’t?
Consider this:- Site A offers free shipping on all orders worth more than Rs. 150 while site B charges Rs. 10 per book and yet another site C charges a flat Rs. 30 per order. Which of the three sites do you think would be more popular?
My bet is site A. Simply because despite different discount structures, there is one thing constant, which Ross will always remember and that is site A ships for free. Site A has created a great marketing tool. Besides, by offering free shipping, site A is telling Ross upfront how much a book will cost even before he adds it to the cart and this enriches his customer experience. He need not undergo the hassle of adding a book to the cart and checking out till the end to know the final amount!! So even if Site A is at times not matching the discount by Site B or site C, the former is still expected to fare better, ceteris paribus.
In the Indian context, there is another factor. For some reason, as much as we Indians love free shipping we also hate paying for it. Better give us lower discounts but don’t ask us to pay for shipping. Why is it so?
Maybe it’s because we have been conditioned to think so from the early heydeys of e-commerce in India when ebay.in was still Baazee.
I remember sellers luring buyers by offering outrageous discounts and then in turn outraging them by levying ludicrous shipping charges to cover their costs.
In the West it is a well-established practice to pay for shipping. Even Amazon, which any Indian swears e-commerce by, charges for shipping unless the order amount is more than $25. In our case it would have translated to orders worth more than Rs. 750. Free shipping over there is used to incentivize the customers to buy in bulk; in fact there is a free shipping day. So why do we not also follow their practice rather than make a habit out of it here?
I would someday really like to explore this psychology of ours because when we were contemplating our own shipping policy for LeBooks.in, I myself was vociferous that we not charge anything!
Well Said!
Free shipping is one of those subconscious baits in the minds of consumers. Maybe it tells him that he’s saving the cost of a trip to the local book store. Maybe it tells him that the cost of shipping for small enough to be borne by a retailer. Whatever the reasons may be, It’s a turn off to be charged for shipping.
Interestingly, I’ve noticed that customers may not buy movie tickets online for similar reasons. When purchasing tickets online for fewer people, the marginal additional cost of getting those tickets rises to a prohibitive number (This may not be the case on weekends when the premium is well worth standing in the queue). I’m at odds to understand why the websites don’t reduce (if not repeal altogether) the extra “convenience” charges associated with tickets online.
@Naresh
and b) more so because there is no real cost involved for the multiplex.
Naresh, we don’t like paying convenience charges for tickets online a) because we are paying extra
In this age for them showing availability online is a necessary marketing tool, and they are just combining ordering facility with that. It helps reduce their labor costs at the box office that might have been required for better queue management. This also generates advance working capital along with helping them schedule a movie. I had actually done a project in MicroEco on PVR Cinemas. The interesting observation was whenever the number of bookings reduced to 20% of the seating capacity by Tue-Wed, they reduced the seats to regain 90% occupancy until the movie is eventually taken off!
@Vikas
Interesting survey Vikas…
It baffles me as to why they choose to levy these extra charges!
Easy money. They are multiplexes catering to elite audience who don’t want to stand in queues. Further they have enough demand and know that even if tickets are not booked online, they will sell through the box office. Being in e-commerce ourselves I can’t fathom any other reason for charging Rs. 10 per ticket. It is more than enough to cover any extraneous expenses they incur when selling online compared to selling offline.
Maybe they are unknowingly stifling an opportunity at a bigger market by these myopic measures
There is another India based online bookstore who offers free shipping if the total order is greater than rs.100. why rs.150 for lebooks? btw, i’ve placed order and got it delivered for free from the said website recently. also, when i compared some of the book rates, it seems like they are giving better discount than yours! is there any reason for the difference in the prices?
Hi,
Thanks for your post.
I think I know which other online bookstore you are referring to. It is possible that some of their books have better prices but I can assure you that it is not true across titles. If you go deeper beyond the homepage, you’ll realize that our prices are as competetive if not better. So, if you are sensitive about prices, I’d suggest you check both these sites before your every purchase
At this point, I’ll like to tell you a bit more about our store. Though we give discounts and price our books competitively, we do not think it should be the only reason for you to come to us. We are book lovers and understand what all a book lover seeks in a service like ours. So, we do small small things to make your experience a memorable one. We include a beautifully designed, high utility bookmark in every packet. We also pack the books with extreme care using bubble wrap and cardboard box. We keep you updated on the exact status of your order. Also, we now offer gift-wrap option for those who wish to send books to their loved ones. And many more features are in the pipeline. All said, I can only say that we make that extra effort to make your book buying experience a pleasurable one.
We would really like you to try out our service and for that we’ll extend you a special offer. Next time you want to buy a book and find it cheaper anywhere else, let us know and we’ll match the price. But we really want you to try us out.
Look forward to having you as a customer soon
Thanks,
Rajat