This year might go down in history as the end of free and fast shipping. The good old days were sweet. Nearly any online good, big or small, could arrive at your door within a couple of days for free, and often could be sent back at no cost. It was exhilarating.

For a time, businesses were willing to eat the cost of shipping, which can take as much as 10 per cent to 15 per cent of a company’s profits, because they were in a fierce fight for e-commerce dollars. But over the past year, retailers have been quietly rolling back options that would get orders to your front door within days, as their operating margins suffered.

Bloomberg Opinion