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Would you spend $300 on shipping an item you’re buying online for $100? If you’re like many of today’s consumers, you might think that’s just not fair. But that is the type of shipping charge Ikea customers are facing.

According to this Stylelist Home blog post, Ikea has established a flat shipping rate for customers further from their store locations. This likely lowers the cost for customers buying roomfuls of furniture, but the customer who is buying a single item appears to lose out. Statistics show that people who purchase furniture on the web are, in fact, often buying single pieces -- it's the guy who’s jumping online at lunch to snag that $899 leather couch he has in his cart that is now on sale for $629 (you know, the one with the brushed stainless legs).  But what is the abandonment rate when a customer sees the shipping rate is higher than the money he’s saving?  I'll save you the thinking on this one: The abandonment rate is huge, and that's a problem for billion-dollar retailers like Ikea.

Shipping is an expensive part of the retail business, especially for big-ticket retailers. But not getting this part of the pricing right can be detrimental to the bottom line. Implementing a local e-commerce strategy can keep shipping costs down for your customers.

Our e-commerce solution here at Blueport takes the customer’s location into account. We tie into our retail clients’ real-time inventory data and display the merchandise that is available in the physical stores closest to the customer. This allows customers to get the merchandise they want as quickly and inexpensively as possible. After all, happy customers equal happy retailers!

Related posts:

• Hyperlocal Beyond Marketing -- Think Localized E-Commerce
• E-Commerce Logistics and the Element of Localization
• 5 Tips for Handling Inventory Stock Information on E-Commerce Sites
• E-Commerce 2.0 -- the Next Wave

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