Beginning Monday, March 6th, there will be a few changes to shipping policy.
- Free Shipping Threshold will move from $100 to $125. Orders over $125 are free!
- Orders over $450 will get 10% off. No code necessary
- There is NO CHANGE to shipping for orders under $125
Why are you changing your shipping policy?
- In 2022, SwitchGrocery spent net over $100,000 on shipping orders (after the contribution from our customers)
- Shipping 1 order across Canada used to cost an average of $13 per order and it is now up to an average $18 per order.
- Remote Area Shipping can cost up to $50 - $60 per order.
When I place an order, what is shipping going to cost me and why?
NEW: What's the reason for increasing free shipping from $100 to $125?
Once you get to free shipping, we cover 100% of the shipping cost. At an average of $18 per order, it's easier for us to cover that cost if the order value is higher. Many of our customers place orders right above $100 right now, and $125 will give us some more margin for shipping.
Why is the $7.99 flat rate unchanged?
We want to do anything we can to keep costs as reasonable as possible and for our customers friends who want to place a "top up order" or new customer friends trying SwitchGrocery for the first time, our customers have REPEATEDLY told us they appreciate the $7.99.
In 2021, we offered free shipping as a test for all orders. This had some cool results that it lowered the bar for getting smaller items to try from SwitchGrocery, BUT it also increased the number of smaller shipments. The smaller shipments cost us as much in shipping as the product and are almost always at a net loss to the company. Unfortunately, this is not sustainable. This is why, our only ask for the $7.99 shipping fee is that the order is over $50.
Orders under $50 will have a shipping cost of $19.99.
NEW: You are adding in a 10% off automatic discount for orders over $450. Why?
Anytime we have a larger order, that helps our company because we use one box, less packaging materials, one shipping fee. We wanted to share this with our Customer Friends who have the cash flow to be able to place larger orders. You get this discount AUTOMATICALLY! No code is necessary.
Plus you know we love reducing our waste and saving our brown unsexy paper!
What about us in Remote Areas?
WE SEE YOU! Some online grocery stores do not ship to Remote Areas in Canada and even specific provinces. It's REALLY important for us to be able to service all Canadians and we pride ourselves on this. Shipping to you costs us approx $50 - $60 in some cases.
Our recommendation to you is order less frequently and a higher cart size. This will help you and us save on shipping fees and we can then cover more of the shipping costs through your order size.
Orders < $99, shipping is $29.99
Orders $100 - $249, shipping is $19.90
Orders Over $249, shipping is Free
What's the value of shipping fees to me?
I place a lot of online orders and my views about shipping fees have changed.
- Time - the time saved that I don't have to leave my house
- Access - I can get access to items I otherwise would not from a local store
- Convenience - Things I want, show up at my door (I don't have to think about the pick and pack, closing the box, pickup by the carrier and all the steps in between)
I commit to you that we DO NOT make money on shipping. We never have. We accept it as a cost of doing business.
Please email me at contact@switchgrocery.com if you have any questions.
- Neha, co-founder, SwitchGrocery
Bonus Question: Some other companies have lower shipping thresholds unlike you
- they have larger volumes (i.e., larger companies)
- higher margins on their products - we carry specialty food products from smaller suppliers
- they are taking a larger hit on shipping costs and making it up somewhere
- more often than not, they are running an unprofitable business (especially right now)
- they are charging ACTUAL shipping costs for orders under the free shipping threshold versus we charge a flat rate of $7.99 so our customers have that predictability