Gas prices won’t drive away free shipping, says Shop.org study

Gasoline prices, which affect online retailers’ delivery costs, will not have an affect on e-retailers’ willingness to offer free shipping this holiday shopping season, says the 2005 Shop.org/BizRate Research Online Holiday Mood Study, conducted by BizRate Research, a division of Shopzilla Inc.

79% of online retailers plan to offer free shipping of some kind this holiday season, the survey reports.

All companies in the survey are expecting online sales to be higher this year than last. 19% of online retailers expect holiday sales to double from 2004, while another 54% expect growth of 20% to 99%.

BizRate research surveyed 119 online retailers, all members of trade group Shop.org, and 1,891 online buyers.