Free shipping is a marketing and sales tactic where online sellers or store owners do not charge customers for delivering the product to their address. This means that the customers only pay for their purchased item, not any additional shipping fees. This strategy helps to attract customers who want to save more.
Merchants cover the cost of shipping to reduce cart abandonment and increase conversion rates. Shopify makes it easy to offer free shipping based on minimum order value, specific product, shipping zone, and discount code. This guide provides various methods to set up free shipping in your Shopify store, if you want to offer it store-wide or under specific conditions.
What are the Reasons to Offer Free Shipping to Your Customers?
Before diving into the setup, it’s essential to understand why free shipping matters:
More Conversions: Customers hate to pay for shipping, and leave their cart abandoned. According to a study, 61% of customers abandon their online shopping carts when extra fees are added at checkout. To prevent this, free shipping is a great way to complete purchases and reduce cart abandonment rates.
Increase Average Order Value: When customers know they are eligible for free shipping after a certain amount, they are more likely to add extra items to their cart to meet that limit.
Competitive Advantages: Many online shoppers expect free shipping before completing the checkout. Without this, you are going to lose traffic as compared to competitors who offer free shipping. By providing free shipping, you attract more customers from competitors.
Marketing Opportunities: Promoting free shipping is an effective marketing strategy to get more traffic in your store and increase brand loyalty.
What are the Steps to Set up Free Shipping in Shopify?
Shopify makes it easy for merchants to offer free shipping to their customers. There are different ways to do this:
- Free Shipping for all Products
- Free Shipping for Different Countries
- Free Shipping for Specific Product
- Free Shipping Over Certain Value
- Free Shipping Discount Code
1. Free Shipping for all Products
This method applies free shipping automatically to all products.
- Go to shopify.com and sign in to your store by entering your email and password.
- Go to Settings> Shipping and Delivery in the Shopify admin dashboard. Click on General All Products.
- Now, you see a list of different shipping zones. For example, you choose the Enter the name free shipping, and set prices to $0.00.
- Click on Save to apply the changes.
2. Free Shipping for Different Countries
This allows you to offer free shipping in specific countries while charging for others.
- Access the Shopify admin and go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery.
- Click Create New Profile in the Shipping Profiles section.
- Select the country where you want to ship your product (e.g., United States).
- Name the profile for free shipping and set the price to $0.00, then click Done.
- Save the profile to activate region-specific free shipping.
3. Free Shipping for a Specific Product
Offer free shipping only on selected products without applying it store-wide.
- In the Shopify admin dashboard, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery.
- Click on Create New profile in the shipping section. Name the profile.
- Under Products, click Add products and select the specific product you want to offer with free shipping.
- In the Shipping Zone, choose your countries or regions. Then set the cost to $0.
- Click Save to apply changes for specific products.
4. Free Shipping Over a Certain Value
Set the minimum order value; orders above this value are eligible for free shipping.
- Go to Settings > Shipping and delivery in the admin panel.
- Click on General Shipping and choose the shipping zone.
- Name the customized rate, and set the price value to $0.00.
- Click on Add conditional setting, select Based on order price, and enter a minimum order amount (e.g., $50).
- Click Done, then Save.
5. Free Shipping Discount Code
Users get a discount by entering a special free shipping discount code at checkout. This code is obtained through promotional emails, newsletters, or special events.
Discount Code
- From your Shopify Admin, click Discounts on the left sidebar.
- Click 'Create Discount”, choose 'Free Shipping' as the discount type.
- Click on Generate random discount code to create a code. Select countries or regions where it applies.
- Select a specific product or collection for which you want to offer free shipping. Also, set start/end dates.
- Click Save to activate and share with customers.
Automatic Discount
- In the Shopify admin dashboard, navigate to the discount, then select the create discount option, under the free shipping option, and click on automated code.
- Enter the discount name and select the country you want to apply it to or choose All to apply it globally.
- Set the activation and expiry dates for the discount code.
- Click on Save.
How Do You Cover Free Shipping Costs on Shopify?
Free shipping is a powerful strategy to attract customers and increase sales in your store. However, someone still has to pay the shipping fee. Here, a question arises, "How the cost of free shipping is covered?". Below are the practical ways to cover shipping expenses while maintaining profitability.
Increase Product Prices. One of the simplest ways to cover free shipping costs is to increase the prices of your products. This way, the shipping cost is added to the product price, and customers see a single price at checkout. For example, if you sell the product for $20, start selling it for $32.
Set Minimum Order Amount. Minimum order value to be eligible for free shipping encourages customers to add more items to their cart. This helps to cover shipping costs through increased order values while providing an incentive for larger purchases.
Negotiate with Suppliers: Contact different Delivery Service Providers to negotiate for better shipping rates. Many carriers may agree to offer discount rates based on shipping volume.
Use Flat Rate Shipping: If you can't offer free shipping on all orders, consider using a flat rate that covers your average shipping cost.
Can I Offer Free Shipping According to Order Weight?
Yes, you can offer free shipping based on the order weight. As the weight increases, shipping costs also increase. To minimize these costs, set a maximum weight limit to be eligible for free shipping.
For this, go to your Shopify admin and navigate to Settings > Shipping and delivery. Click on General under the “General shipping rates”. Choose the shipping zone you want to set free shipping. Click on Add rates, and name the rate, such as Free Shipping.
Then set the price to $0. In the Conditions, choose the “Based on order weight” option and enter a minimum and maximum weight range. Then click on Done and save the changes.
How to Turn off Free Shipping on Shopify?
Free shipping drives instant sales, but offering it for a longer period may affect your business. After the promotional period or seasonal sale ends, you should turn off free shipping to ensure your business remains profitable.
To cancel free shipping, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery, then select General under the "General shipping rates" section. Click the “three-dot icon” beside the free shipping option in the Shipping section. Two options will appear: Edit and Delete. Choose Edit to adjust the conditions or select Delete to remove it. Click Save to apply the changes.
