According to UPS’ new Pulse of the Online Shopper report, 81 percent of respondents ranked “product price” as the most important factor in making an online purchase, which really isn't all that surprising. Shipping costs, however, came in at a close second, with 75 percent of those polled rating it as “important” in their decision-making process. It is also interesting to note that 45 percent of online shoppers will actually abandon a shopping cart when they find out that their order total didn't qualify for free shipping. In fact, it turns out the #1 reason for abandoning the shopping cart is because shipping costs made the total purchase cost more than expected.
From a scientific standpoint, we didn't know all of that here at Puzzle Ring Emporium when we decided to offer free shipping. To us it just made sense. But we're glad to hear we made the right decision and that our customers appreciate our free shipping policy.