L.L. Bean Lays Down Shipping Guantlet to Competitors

L.L. Bean has instituted no-strings-attached free shipping for its customers, challenging and pressuring competitors to respond in some way to the initiative.

The retailer will waiving shipping fees all the time, with no minimum order, effective Friday.

The outdoors and clothing retailer joins Zappos.com 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 2- to 5-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 like 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.




Source