12-22-2006, 10:14 AM
Quote:Free shipping remains the habit that e-commerce can't break. Consumers, meanwhile, are growing increasingly addicted to free shipping themselves, a condition some say e-tailers brought upon themselves.
While there's been some efforts to wean consumers slowly, the most notable example being Amazon's effort to get shoppers to pay for the free shipping privilege in advance -- few sites have gone cold turkey. Even PC retailers resorted to free shipping offers again in the holiday rush.
In fact, a study by online marketing firm eROI found that free shipping offers are the discount most likely to entice consumers to open and respond to commercial e-mail messages.
Meanwhile, a separate study, the Consumer Internet Barometer, found that free shipping is becoming an expected benefit of buying online...
full article: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/KNjD...-Age.xhtml