Shoppers expect free shipping - full stop

74% of shoppers consider free shipping the "most important option at checkout."
This is from eFulfillment Service. They're on fire when it comes to collecting data lately!
But OK, let's unpack that 74%. Does that mean they won't buy unless it's free?
It's hard to say. The question itself leaves room for interpretation.
What's obvious, though, is that the "free shipping" head game is still absolutely a thing.
For some reason $30 + $5 shipping is harder to deal with than $35 + free shipping.
The likely issue? Probably the surprise factor. People see it in their cart and say "wait a minute..."
So free shipping or not, one thing's clear: you need to cut the surprise factor out if you can.