Clients who used to shop at Best Buy and wanted to get free shipping know that a minimum purchase of $35 was required, but not anymore.
This changed recently, as the electronics store launched a courageous marketing campaign that offers free shipping regardless of the item's value. Until Jan. 2, 2016, online buyers may order (almost) anything and get it delivered for no charge whatsoever.
With so many big names battling for online market share, free shipping becomes a must for companies that want to boost their sales. Pitney Bowes conducted a survey recently and concluded that a staggering majority of clients prefer free shipping, where deliveries happen in five to seven days, rather than paying for a quick delivery of one to two days. Only 12 percent of customers said they would rather pay more to get the ordered item faster.
Last year, vendor chain Target lured customers to its site by offering free shipping during the winter holidays. The essential difference between Target and Best Buy is that the first has an average price-per-product way lower than the latter. This means that Target made a more generous offer, with free shipping even for products that cost $20 or $10. Best Buy, on the other hand, generally sells electronics with higher prices that already make them eligible for free shipping from the get go. Either way, waiving the minimum purchase requirement for free shipping is always a popular offer among consumers, and Best Buy also offers other incentives.
Charles O'Shea, analyst at Moody's, estimates that the free shipping offers will multiply and that important e-commerce chains will jump in the bandwagon. Target already confirmed that it began a similar program on Nov. 1. Free shipping won't do the trick on its own, however, and retailers are coming up with more appealing offers to lure customers.
Best Buy announced a wider array of incentives in addition to the free-shipping-for-all offer.
The Geek Squad setup, for instance, helps buyers install the devices they purchase from Best Buy, and is available for free with many products on the store's top tech list. So, if you plan on buying a smart TV from Best Buy, you might get a team of experts to install and configure it for no charge. The list of gadgets that benefit from the Geek Squad's assistance also includes high-tech, noise-canceling headphones, iPads, the Microsoft Surface tablet PC and MacBooks, and more.
The electronics vendor also released the Top 15 Holiday Tech Gifts List for 2015, in case customers need recommendations for hot holiday gifts. The list enumerates the most sought-after devices from 2015, according to a national survey ordered by Best Buy.
