Go Back  DVD Talk Forum > Shopping Discussions > Store Forum
Reload this Page >

Best Buy & Target Offering Free Shipping For 2016 Holiday Season

Store Forum Share Your Shopping Experiences at Stores both Online and Off.

Best Buy & Target Offering Free Shipping For 2016 Holiday Season

Old 10-23-16, 01:59 PM
  #1  
DVD Talk Special Edition
Thread Starter
 
bacigalup's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Where Mario's son resigned
Posts: 1,573
Received 76 Likes on 45 Posts
Best Buy & Target Offering Free Shipping For 2016 Holiday Season

From time.com/money:

Normally, Best Buy requires online shoppers to spend at least $35 to get free shipping. But starting this Sunday and stretching all the way through January 2, the $35 minimum-purchase threshold is being waived, and all orders placed at bestbuy.com qualify for free shipping.

Free shipping is increasingly viewed as a necessity to get many shoppers to bite on online shopping deals. In a recent survey by Pitney Bowes, 88% of consumers said they’d prefer free standard shipping (arriving in 5 to 7 days) rather than paying a fee for speedier delivery (1 to 2 days). Any shipping fee can be a hurdle to get shoppers to buy, so retailers drop delivery charges from time to time when they want to ramp up orders. A year ago, for instance, Target rolled out essentially the same deal as Best Buy, offering free shipping on all orders for most of the holiday season.
Yet in some ways, it’s more generous for a retailer like Target to waive minimum-purchase requirements than it is for Best Buy. Why? Think about what the average purchase at Best Buy: Odds are, it’s a piece of tech that costs well over $35—and therefore would qualify for free shipping even when a minimum-purchase threshold exists. Target, on the other hand, is an all-purpose retailer overflowing with items that cost under $20, or even less than $10. So the likelihood of orders costing under $35 or $25 (the current minimum-purchase threshold for free delivery at Target) is far greater than Best Buy. (It’s worth noting that Target Red Card holders get free shipping on all orders year-round.)

So perhaps Best Buy’s free-shipping-for-all deal isn’t quite as impressive as it seems at first glance. Still, the promotion could have a big impact on the kinds of deals and promotions shoppers see during the holidays. “There’s always a herd mentality surrounding shipping,” Moody’s analyst Charles O’Shea told the (Minneapolis) StarTribune. “So you’ll see other people following suit.”

In other words, because Best Buy is waiving minimum-purchase requirements for free shipping during the holiday season, others are likely to do the same. So look for more free shipping deals coming your way.

UPDATE: It looks like Target will be offering free shipping with no minimum purchase as well this year, starting November 1.

http://time.com/money/4084932/best-buy-free-shipping/
Old 10-24-16, 12:17 PM
  #2  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Cardsfan111's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Indiana
Posts: 18,480
Likes: 0
Received 366 Likes on 231 Posts
Re: Best Buy & Target Offering Free Shipping For 2016 Holiday Season

Good to hear.

Anything to reduce the likelihood of braving the madhouse at the B&M stores.
Old 10-26-16, 01:10 PM
  #3  
DVD Talk Special Edition
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 1,954
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Re: Best Buy & Target Offering Free Shipping For 2016 Holiday Season

Yeah, great to hear.

Meanwhile, I hope that Amazon takes note of the survey "In a recent survey by Pitney Bowes, 88% of consumers said they’d prefer free standard shipping (arriving in 5 to 7 days) rather than paying a fee for speedier delivery (1 to 2 days)". It might not influence them, but I think it's good for them to at least be aware of.
Old 10-26-16, 01:27 PM
  #4  
DVD Talk Limited Edition
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 5,080
Received 37 Likes on 23 Posts
Re: Best Buy & Target Offering Free Shipping For 2016 Holiday Season

It looks like Target changed their date for free shipping. You can now get free express shipping.
Old 11-28-16, 08:51 PM
  #5  
Banned
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,046
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Re: Best Buy & Target Offering Free Shipping For 2016 Holiday Season

My main problem with Best Buy's website is they refuse to default to shipping instead of goddamn store pickup. I'm shopping online. Assume I intend to sit here on my ass and let you ship my order unless I say otherwise! Goddamn it's annoying having to set every item in the cart to shipping.
Old 11-29-16, 01:54 PM
  #6  
DVD Talk God
 
Deftones's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Arizona
Posts: 80,961
Received 1,357 Likes on 922 Posts
Re: Best Buy & Target Offering Free Shipping For 2016 Holiday Season

Originally Posted by Viper187
My main problem with Best Buy's website is they refuse to default to shipping instead of goddamn store pickup. I'm shopping online. Assume I intend to sit here on my ass and let you ship my order unless I say otherwise! Goddamn it's annoying having to set every item in the cart to shipping.
that's weird, because mine is always defaulted to shipping, when i always want it for store pick up.

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.