Seeking to make free shipping the norm on Etsy rather than the exception, the e-Commerce marketplace will provide its sellers with tools, support and educational resources to help them guarantee free shipping to U.S. buyers spending $35 or more.
Additionally, beginning July 30, Etsy will give priority placement in U.S. search results to items that ship free, and to sellers guaranteeing free shipping to U.S. customers that meet the $35 minimum. Etsy will begin actively marketing the free shipping initiative to consumers in September, with the goal of driving more traffic to the marketplace and sellers’ shops.
“Shoppers come to Etsy to discover over 60 million special and unique items that often cannot be found anywhere else,” said Josh Silverman, Etsy CEO in a statement. “Yet we hear that high shipping prices often deter shoppers from completing their purchases. Ultimately, we believe [free shipping] will help increase marketplace conversion and order value, encourage repeat visits, and drive more sales for Etsy sellers.”
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Etsy ran a limited-time free shipping promotion in May 2019 that the company said led to higher order values when participating buyers purchased items that shipped for free.
The retail industry’s biggest players have been competing in an increasingly fierce shipping war in recent months:
• Amazon reported in April that it would invest to make one-day shipping the default standard for Amazon Prime;
• In May, Walmart rolled out next-day delivery for 220,000 items with no membership fee requirements; and
• In June, Target said it would offer same-day shipping on 65,000 items for a fee of $9.99 per order.
