On March 2, 2022, REI Co-op relaunched the lifetime co-op membership program, offering more ways for members to grow, connect and have a broader impact. With the relaunched membership, we expanded the value of membership with enhanced benefits. This series explains each membership benefit in depth and celebrates our collective impact.
Perhaps you need more freeze-dried dinners for next week’s backpack. Or maybe a mosquito net for a bug-free tropical vacation. Until recently, members had to spend $50 or more to get free shipping, and small items like these would fall beneath that threshold. Members, like other customers, paid shipping fees of $5.99 or more. Now, as one of the new benefits included in our relaunch of the REI Co-op membership program, all members receive free U.S. standard shipping on all orders, with no minimum order. (Exceptions apply for international shipping and oversized items.) That means increased flexibility and convenience for members and fewer trips to the store to pick up a single item.
It’s a benefit that members requested and also something that few other retailers currently offer.
“We know that free shipping is a core customer expectation in today’s retail environment. Our members and prospects have continually ranked shipping as a highly appealing benefit for REI membership,” says Brigette Pence, senior manager, Loyalty Strategy and Membership. “Providing free shipping without any threshold, and without an annual subscription fee, is differentiated in the marketplace and provides meaningful value to our members.”
Over time, that little change for members can mean considerable savings. It’s also a benefit that aligns with our carbon-reduction goals. Sue Long, REI sustainability initiative manager, calculated the impacts of shipping to a customer versus the customer traveling to the store for an item. She found that shipping to a customer, including emissions from the packaging, usually creates a lower carbon impact compared with driving to the store, unless the customer is driving an electric vehicle (EV) powered by renewable energy or going to a nearby store to pick up a heavy item that would otherwise be shipped long distance.
“For light items and orders like apparel and shoes, shipping to home is likely to have a lower carbon impact unless the customer drives a zero-emission vehicle or walks,” says Sue. “Even taking public transit generally produces higher emissions than direct-to-customer for low- to medium-weight orders.”
With this in mind, members—including employees—can feel good about ordering what they need online.
Like all benefits included in our membership relaunch, we chose to offer free shipping after listening to our customers and field teams and finding out what would best expand the value of lifetime membership and contribute to the long-term health of the co-op.
“We are proud to continue to offer our members the very best co-op experience, no matter where they shop,” says Brigette. “Our free shipping service enables members to save their time (and money) for what they really love—getting outside.”