FREEPORT, Maine — As retailers increasingly turn to free shipping to lure customers, L.L. Bean is upping the ante by waiving shipping fees all the time, with no minimum order, putting pressure on rivals.
Effective today, the outdoor-gear and clothing retailer joins in offering year-round, no-strings-attached free shipping, going against the grain in an industry accustomed to selective free-shipping offers, particularly around the holidays and sometimes tied to minimum purchases or vanity credit cards.
Steve Fuller, L.L. Bean’s chief marketing officer, said the company had been toying with the idea for the past three years as it tested occasional free shipping.
“In research after research after research, the customers said this is how we want to shop,” Fuller said.
The offer applies to standard two- to five-day shipping via UPS to L.L. Bean customers in the U.S. and Canada. Two-day shipping remains an option for $15, the company said. Neither offer applies to large items such as canoes or furniture that have to be delivered by freight.
Aware that customers want free shipping, retailers are increasingly providing it. In 2009, 30 to 35 percent of online holiday purchases involved free shipping; this past holiday season, the figure grew to 40 to 45 percent, said Andrew Lipsman, analyst at comScore Inc., an Internet research firm.
Retailers such as L.L. Bean closely examine the rate at which online customers abandon their orders after they see the shipping fees.
