L.L. Bean Issues Free Shipping Salvo

I am not one to start the holiday shopping frenzy early, but I thought this was worth passing on. L.L. Bean has come out of the block early with a free shipping offer through Dec. 21. And the biggest news is that there is no minimum purchase necessary, an unusually good online retail offer.

Steve Fuller, L.L. Bean's senior vice president for corporate marketing, tells the New York Times that they will lose money on the deal since shoppers typically buy less when there is no minimum purchase. But the Maine-based retailer is forging ahead with the plan to stand out in a crowded retail pack and to attract new or returning customers.

Whether other online retailers will respond with similar deals is unclear. A Shop.org industry survey finds that 54 percent of online retailers had tried unconditional free shipping but that only half of them will try it again, the Times reports.

Conditional free shipping will likely be more prevalent this holiday season, the kind Amazon has made popular with its offer of free shipping for offers over $25. Eighty percent of the retailers surveyed in the same Shop.org study had offered conditional free shipping in the past of 71 percent of them said they would do so again this year.

L.L. Bean's unique offer is not without some caveats. Large-ticket items such as beds, couches, and canoes are not included, with shipping costs varying between $20 and $60 for those weighty purchases. 

Still, the early offer signals good things for we consumers who don't have the time to hit brick-and-mortar stores.  

LINK: Nothing Says 'Buy' Like 'Free Shipping' [New York Times]