Oct. 28, 2015—When it comes to winning online shoppers’ business this holiday season, free shipping is far more important than fast shipping.
That’s according to a just-released report from Deloitte LLC, which polled more than 4,000 U.S. shoppers in mid-September about their holiday shopping habits.
About 87 percent say free shipping is more important than fast shipping and many (60 percent) expect retailers to offer free on-time shipping as late as Dec. 17. Offering free shipping this holiday season could cut into retailers’ profits, with UPS and FedEx raising fuel surcharge rates in time for the holidays.
Deloitte’s research found that 75 percent of consumers plan to spend more this year than they did last year, a level that hasn’t been reached since 2000, when 82 percent of shoppers surveyed by Deloitte planned to spend more. Nearly half (47 percent) plan to do some shopping online.
To read the full story, please click here.
