You’ve probably experienced this. Your online shopping cart totals $49, and you need to purchase $50 in goods to get to that state of free-shipping bliss.
So add a low-ticket item to the cart and you’ve got two-day shipping free of charge.
But that free shipping isn’t so free — and the online retailers that offer it are playing marketing games to get us to spend more. These free shipping practices are having a deleterious effect on smaller retail sites and independent artisans selling products on the internet.
That’s what Amanda Mull has written about in the Atlantic. Her story “ Stop Believing in Free Shipping” reports on the impact on smaller businesses and the consumer.
