Increase Sales and Build Customer Loyalty with Shipping Subscriptions
Customers all want free shipping. One successful approach is to sell a membership that includes free shipping for one year. Instead of saving up for larger orders to make shipping worthwhile, customers can order what they want when they want it, without thinking about shipping charges. This can be paired with the InOrder Loyalty module, so active members can also earn points, or extra points, they wouldn’t otherwise earn with each order.
InOrder offers a Subscriptions module with a membership option. Businesses typically sell these memberships for a set fee. Shipping can be free or computed at a discount to active members. InOrder will also Email renewal notices or other ads to the members offering special discounts for some or all products. Timing these discounts to go out at different intervals based on RFM is a great way to promote customer loyalty.
The folks at Stewart-MacDonald did just this, with great success. They launched a program called “StewMAX Membership.” For an annual fee, StewMAX Membership provides free standard shipping for one year on all orders to the U.S.. Stewart-MacDonald also extends their free shipping to returns, making purchases risk-free with their 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.
The findings from these programs have been surprisingly successful. Customers on blogs have mentioned that previously they would build a wish list, but under the new program they find themselves ordering any time they need something. This can lead to an increase on small same day orders to the same address, but InOrder allows you to combine shipments for members that are printed on the same day, allowing you to take advantage of the best shipping rate at the time of shipping.
Merchants using this approach have noted success in converting more one-time customers into regular long term customers. With free shipping memberships, customers are much more likely to place frequent orders, ultimately buying more than they would have otherwise, spending more, but also receiving more customer satisfaction.
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