Backcountry.com's ODAT (one deal at a time) websites are offering combined shopping. Customers of SteepandCheap.com, WhiskeyMilitia.com, Brociety.com, Chainlove.com, Bonktown.com and Tramdock.com can stockpile their multiple one-at-a-time orders for up to seven days before the goods are packaged and shipped off together.
Shoppers are charged shipping for the first deal, and then can add an unlimited number of items to the same order for a small additional shipping charge of $2.99 per item. And while they can’t share one cart between sites (yet), they can have a number of carts open on multiple sites at a time.
“By opting in, customers can reduce their (and the stores’) carbon footprint, and can save themselves some coin too. Just in time for the holidays,” Backcountry.com said in a press release. “We’ll go ahead and state the obvious here: shipping is kind of a big deal for online shoppers. If it’s too expensive, people skip out. Think about it. When was the last time you went into the grocery store, filled your cart, and then bolted? When was the last time you did that online?”
The company noted that a July 2009 PayPal survey of online shoppers showed that 46% of responders said shipping charges were the primary reason for abandoning their carts. (Only 21% listed concern about security of credit card data. How awkward for PayPal.)
“Combined shipping has been the number one most requested feature for ODAT pretty much since day one of Steep and Cheap in 2005, and the cry has been louder in the past year through forums and Facebook,” said Sam Bruni, general manager of ODAT for Backcountry.com. “We came up with ODAT. We even coined the term. But it’s taken us forever to offer combined shipping to our customers.”
