I’ve recently bought a luxury item. It’s not something I need. In fact, it’s something I could do without and not notice my loss but, in an uncharacteristic bout of generosity, I went for it. I obviously bought it via a company whose email marketing list I grace.

I saw it via a click-through in one of their email marketing campaigns. They didn’t have it as their feature product. It’s understandable, as not only was it quite expensive (at least for me), but the price was a little higher than I could get from a well-known online retailer. Not only that, but delivery costs were not included.

Other outlets promised a lead time for delivery in the region of seven days minimum, one even, rather vaguely, promising to try to deliver in ‘about’ a fortnight. I can sympathise with their problems. Delays at borders must be infuriating and also eat into profits, but this empathy did not extend to buying the product from them as I had that common urge; I wanted it now.

My email marketing company could promise next day delivery, albeit for a price of £6.58, not that much of a mark-up on their basic five-day price of around £4. So why did I consider it worth paying the extra?

An estimated delivery date removes a lot of the attractions of buying online. The problem is, you don’t know when it will arrive. Having a set delivery date, with an hour window, was enough to take all the concern away. Or, to put it another way, after years of looking at the price as the main deal-breaker, this has, for me at least, been replaced on certain items by confirmed delivery dates.

I know all about the extra costs of keeping items on shelves. However, it does seem the only way to ensure that your products are not kept waiting in a queue at a port. If you factor in the higher prices you could charge, the costs drop. 

Do the subscribers to your email marketing list feel delivery is the new price for certain products? Time to test.