Free delivery is not an actual thing.
Yet, as prices rise and e-commerce shrinks, Amazon.com Inc. and other online retailers who rely on supposedly free shipping to build consumer loyalty are battling to prevent it from eating into their profitability.
Companies are increasing minimum purchase requirements, hiking rates for speedier service, and making other adjustments that push more costs to customers who are already struggling financially.
"The days of free delivery are numbered," Ken Morris, managing partner at Cambridge Retail Advisors, said of the fast-changing retail marketing tool.
According to Morris, retailers are starting to resemble some airlines, which charge extra for things like superior seating, carrying luggage, and limiting the usage of frequent flyer miles.
It is well known that most shops increase their pricing in order to cover the cost of free shipping. Even so, the service is unsustainable due to product inflation and rising shipping costs, and the possibility of a recession raises concerns that it will further depress already flagging online spending.
Amazon promoted free shipping as a distinction and subsidized its package delivery expenses with costly Prime subscriptions and substantial earnings from other companies, driving other shops to follow even though they lacked Amazon's advantages.
The industry, where nearly three-quarters of e-commerce companies offer some sort of free shipping, is rethinking the financial cost of forming free shipping habits among customers as retail margins are contracting and shipping rates for United Parcel Service Inc, FedEx Corp, and the U.S. Postal Service reach record levels.
According to Lee Spratt, CEO of DHL eCommerce Solutions USA, which offers logistics services, reducing shipping costs is retailers' top concern, with speed coming in second.
Companies, like Amazon, Einstein Pets, which sells dog treats, and well-known clothing retailers like Zara, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Foot Locker, draw the line at losing money on a service that customers have grown to anticipate.
According to Mingshu Bates, chief analytics officer at consulting firm AFS Logistics, this translates into shipping cost reduction targets of up to 25%.
Amazon's most recent actions are instructive after it forced free and quick shipping on the e-commerce sector it controls.
The online store is now providing "free" same-day shipping for Prime members in at least a dozen U.S. locations, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia. This comes after the company recently increased the yearly Prime subscription price by $20 to $139. There are restrictions, though, since the service is only free for orders that total at least $25 and is charged at $2.99 for orders that do not.
Beginning in March, Amazon also increased the minimum order amount required for free Prime shipping from its failing online food store to $150 from $35 and increased the fees for orders below the new level from $3.95 to $9.95.
In February, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated that the company is reducing costs across the board and that shipment speed would not suffer as a result of its drive for efficiency. According to a spokeswoman on Thursday, Prime delivery times improved from 2021 to 2022 and will continue to do so this year.
Several consultants and clients are observing service adjustments in the interim.
"Getting things to people same-day or within a certain number of hours doesn't seem to be first and foremost anymore" at Amazon, e-commerce consultant Chris McCabe said.
Several Prime customers, including middle school teacher Bryan Fabiano from upstate New York, have complained on social media about the lateness of their package deliveries, especially around the holidays.
"My wife and I are Prime customers because of the shipping (benefits). If they're not going to deliver on that, then what are we paying for?" Fabiano, 48, told Reuters.
Customers who do not have Prime membership can, in fact, enjoy free standard shipping on Amazon orders over $25. For around $100 a year in delivery subscription fees, Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. provide free shipping on orders over $35 to non-members.
According to August 2022 survey data from market research company Digital Commerce 360, about 75% of the top 1,000 U.S. retailers offered free shipping on at least some orders, with 45% demanding a minimum purchase for that privilege.
While some shops, like Amazon and the fashion retailer Asos Plc (ASOS.L), have increased the requirements for fast shipment, others are eliminating free shipping entirely or raising the price of their products.
According to owner Kelly Ison, Einstein Pets in Atlanta was "between a rock and a hard place." By discontinuing free shipping on orders of Einstein's speciality dog treats, which come in flavors like PB'N Jelly Time and Pumpkin Time, in the middle of 2022, she took action to safeguard her profit.
"We can't compete with Amazon," she told Reuters.
In order to combat rapidly rising delivery costs and prevent price rises that would harm her competitiveness, Ison resorted to flat-rate shipping of $8. Although she lost some clients, she is still making money.
United Filter Co., a Toronto-based company, increased the price of its furnace filters so that it could continue to offer free shipping for purchases made through Amazon, Walmart, and Ebay. The company has never offered universally free returns because doing so would be too "cost-prohibitive," according to owner Darrin Landau, who told Reuters.
He said that the business divided the discrepancy. Many are simply dependent on free shipping.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
Yet, as prices rise and e-commerce shrinks, Amazon.com Inc. and other online retailers who rely on supposedly free shipping to build consumer loyalty are battling to prevent it from eating into their profitability.
Companies are increasing minimum purchase requirements, hiking rates for speedier service, and making other adjustments that push more costs to customers who are already struggling financially.
"The days of free delivery are numbered," Ken Morris, managing partner at Cambridge Retail Advisors, said of the fast-changing retail marketing tool.
According to Morris, retailers are starting to resemble some airlines, which charge extra for things like superior seating, carrying luggage, and limiting the usage of frequent flyer miles.
It is well known that most shops increase their pricing in order to cover the cost of free shipping. Even so, the service is unsustainable due to product inflation and rising shipping costs, and the possibility of a recession raises concerns that it will further depress already flagging online spending.
Amazon promoted free shipping as a distinction and subsidized its package delivery expenses with costly Prime subscriptions and substantial earnings from other companies, driving other shops to follow even though they lacked Amazon's advantages.
The industry, where nearly three-quarters of e-commerce companies offer some sort of free shipping, is rethinking the financial cost of forming free shipping habits among customers as retail margins are contracting and shipping rates for United Parcel Service Inc, FedEx Corp, and the U.S. Postal Service reach record levels.
According to Lee Spratt, CEO of DHL eCommerce Solutions USA, which offers logistics services, reducing shipping costs is retailers' top concern, with speed coming in second.
Companies, like Amazon, Einstein Pets, which sells dog treats, and well-known clothing retailers like Zara, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Foot Locker, draw the line at losing money on a service that customers have grown to anticipate.
According to Mingshu Bates, chief analytics officer at consulting firm AFS Logistics, this translates into shipping cost reduction targets of up to 25%.
Amazon's most recent actions are instructive after it forced free and quick shipping on the e-commerce sector it controls.
The online store is now providing "free" same-day shipping for Prime members in at least a dozen U.S. locations, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia. This comes after the company recently increased the yearly Prime subscription price by $20 to $139. There are restrictions, though, since the service is only free for orders that total at least $25 and is charged at $2.99 for orders that do not.
Beginning in March, Amazon also increased the minimum order amount required for free Prime shipping from its failing online food store to $150 from $35 and increased the fees for orders below the new level from $3.95 to $9.95.
In February, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated that the company is reducing costs across the board and that shipment speed would not suffer as a result of its drive for efficiency. According to a spokeswoman on Thursday, Prime delivery times improved from 2021 to 2022 and will continue to do so this year.
Several consultants and clients are observing service adjustments in the interim.
"Getting things to people same-day or within a certain number of hours doesn't seem to be first and foremost anymore" at Amazon, e-commerce consultant Chris McCabe said.
Several Prime customers, including middle school teacher Bryan Fabiano from upstate New York, have complained on social media about the lateness of their package deliveries, especially around the holidays.
"My wife and I are Prime customers because of the shipping (benefits). If they're not going to deliver on that, then what are we paying for?" Fabiano, 48, told Reuters.
Customers who do not have Prime membership can, in fact, enjoy free standard shipping on Amazon orders over $25. For around $100 a year in delivery subscription fees, Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. provide free shipping on orders over $35 to non-members.
According to August 2022 survey data from market research company Digital Commerce 360, about 75% of the top 1,000 U.S. retailers offered free shipping on at least some orders, with 45% demanding a minimum purchase for that privilege.
While some shops, like Amazon and the fashion retailer Asos Plc (ASOS.L), have increased the requirements for fast shipment, others are eliminating free shipping entirely or raising the price of their products.
According to owner Kelly Ison, Einstein Pets in Atlanta was "between a rock and a hard place." By discontinuing free shipping on orders of Einstein's speciality dog treats, which come in flavors like PB'N Jelly Time and Pumpkin Time, in the middle of 2022, she took action to safeguard her profit.
"We can't compete with Amazon," she told Reuters.
In order to combat rapidly rising delivery costs and prevent price rises that would harm her competitiveness, Ison resorted to flat-rate shipping of $8. Although she lost some clients, she is still making money.
United Filter Co., a Toronto-based company, increased the price of its furnace filters so that it could continue to offer free shipping for purchases made through Amazon, Walmart, and Ebay. The company has never offered universally free returns because doing so would be too "cost-prohibitive," according to owner Darrin Landau, who told Reuters.
He said that the business divided the discrepancy. Many are simply dependent on free shipping.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
Homepage
Send to a friend
Printable version
Share
