Free shipping is without question one of, if not the, most important growth drivers that ops is responsible for providing. Ubiquitous industry studies point to over 80% of customers look for free shipping or will shop elsewhere.

During earlier stages of the business, if a company were to offer free shipping, providing it would be some sort of compromise: Either the company would only offer it on very long and cheap shipping methods, or bake the shipping price into the ASP without the customer knowing, or simply eat the costs.

Fortunately, approaching this size with these volumes, it becomes possible to design a free shipping program that is competitive and scalable. A lot hinges on the ability to play arbitrage across various carriers, methods, and locations, which means the program becomes more cost-effective and competitive as operations grows. While it's possible (and recommended) to get started with only one FC, it's generally best to secure two carriers and multiple methods before implementing the technology used.