Free shipping is perhaps one of the most commonly used perks to encourage consumers to make ecommerce purchases. There is even a Free Shipping Day in December designed to get Americans to buy more goods online.

A recent study from AlixPartners highlights the importance of the promotional gimmick. According to respondents, free shipping is worth waiting for, as 75 percent said they were willing to wait five days for goods, provided they could get it for free.

In fact, when the survey asked why consumers don't shop online more often, 36 percent even said it was because shipping cost money. This was the second-biggest concern about buying goods online, with not being able to see and touch an item in person coming in first at 37 percent.

"The AlixPartners Home-Delivery Shopping Survey, which polled 1,000 adults nationwide between March 22 and 25, found that free shipping has a bigger effect on consumers' online shopping behaviors than the inclusion of sales tax on online purchases," Internet Retailer added, citing the study.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 at 10:13 am .