Where “free shipping” resides on a P&L can significantly impact how frequently retailers offer it. While the
majority of retailers identify any shipping-related costs or expenses within their transportation line items,
some retailers allocate them under marketing expenses because free shipping is such an effective driver of
incremental sales. Those retailers that consider free shipping a marketing expense also tend to offer free
shipping more frequently and generally did not “rate shop” (i.e., downgrade shipping service levels to save
money).
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