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How to Offer Free Shipping on Shopify: Complete Guide + 5 Top Tips

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Free shipping on Shopify is at the forefront of customers’ minds. Free shipping is so important that it’s essentially a dealbreaker. If your online store offers free shipping, you’ll make sales. If your store doesn’t, you may lose customers.

Survey data shows that 48% of consumers add extra items to their cart just to qualify for free shipping. This figure is critical, considering that the current cart abandonment rate is estimated at 68.7%. Guess what the number one reason is for cart abandonment? 

Yep! Shipping charges.

Thus, it makes sense to include free shipping on certain products on Shopify in order to boost your average order value (AOV) and overall revenue. 

In this article, we will discuss the top tips for free shipping. We will also discuss how you can enable the automatic free shipping Shopify function.

Should You Offer Automatic Free Shipping on Shopify?

In short, yes. Enabling automatic free shipping Shopify functions allows your customers to save on their purchases. Please remember that Shopify free shipping goes beyond saving money. It’s a psychological phenomenon that entices customers to follow through on purchases.

How so?

Customers love feeling that they got a good deal. Of course, a good deal isn’t just about getting a great product at a great price. Getting a good deal is also about qualifying for free shipping. In a manner of speaking, qualifying for free shipping feels like customers have achieved something important. 

Remember that you should offer Shopify free shipping only if it makes sense. For instance, international orders may not qualify for free shipping. Therefore, you must be clear on this matter. Nevertheless, offering a discounted rate on overseas shipping may be another way to entice customers to do business with you.

Grow your sales with high-performing deals.

What are the Pros and Cons of Shopify Free Shipping?

Let’s begin by discussing the pros of free shipping.

#1: Increase AOV

Offering Shopify free shipping over amounts such as $50 can entice customers to spend more than they had anticipated. After all, why would customers pay for shipping if they can get it for free? That’s the mindset that Shopify free shipping triggers.

#2: Increase revenue

With increased AOV comes increased revenue. In short, as your AOV increases, so does your online store’s revenue. The secret is to ensure that customers follow through on their purchases.

#3: Increased profitability

Increased AOV and revenue mean increased profitability. However, your profitability depends on your cost control. If you can keep costs in check, you can boost your profitability significantly.

#4: Clear inventory

When sales pick up, you have an opportunity to clear inventory. This situation is crucial, as piling up inventory is never a good thing. Free shipping allows you to boost sales and get merchandise out the door.

Now, let’s talk about the cons of offering free shipping on certain Shopify products:

#1: Reduced margins

Offering Shopify free shipping might mean an added cost to your products. As a result, you might see shipping costs eat into your margins. This reason explains why increasing AOV is a critical strategy to avoid reduced rates.

#2: Slow-selling products

Products that don’t offer free shipping may become slow sellers. This phenomenon is especially true when your best sellers fly out the door. Offering automatic free shipping on Shopify allows you to sell all items, especially when you have a minimum qualifying amount.

#3: Customers become dependent on free shipping

The biggest risk of offering Shopify free shipping over amount totals is that customers may become dependent on free shipping. In other words, the customer will not buy anything if it doesn’t come with free shipping. This consideration is important to keep in mind moving forward.

Despite the potential drawbacks, offering Shopify free shipping is a great way to help kickstart your Shopify online store. Please make sure you offer free shipping this holiday season when it makes sense for your marketing strategy. Otherwise, you may end up doing more harm than good.

Top 5 Tips for Shopify Free Shipping

Let’s move on to the top five tips for Shopify free shipping. These tips are guaranteed to help you make the most out of automatic free shipping on Shopify.

#1: Offer Free Shipping on the First Order

A great strategy is to use Shopify free shipping as a welcome offer. While you may not offer free shipping across the board, you can certainly offer it as part of a welcome offer. Customers need to register with your site to qualify for free shipping. Registration unlocks free shipping allowing customers to purchase as much or as little as they like and get free shipping.

shopify free shipping over amount

Free shipping on the first order works very well when you’re looking to bring on new customers. So, if you’re looking to build up your customer base, consider offering Shopify free shipping on the first order. You’ll be glad you did.

#2: Offer a Free Shipping Code

A Shopify free shipping code is a perfect way to jumpstart your sales this holiday season. This strategy is especially good when your e-commerce site doesn’t offer free shipping. You can email subscribers with an exclusive free shipping code for any amount. 

automatic free shipping shopify

There’s a catch to this strategy, though: offering a free shipping code means that you must add an expiration date. Adding an expiration date creates a sense of urgency. Also, please remember that it’s good for good once the offer is gone. At least for a little while, anyway.

#3: Offer Free Shipping Over an Amount

Offering Shopify free shipping over amount minimums is a great way to boost your sales. For example, you can offer free shipping on any items with a minimum $50 purchase. 

Ultimately, the minimum amount depends on your items’ pricing, sourcing, distribution, and the shipping locations. If you ship exclusively within the United States, you may offer Shopify free shipping at $25. This amount may increase to $100 for overseas purchases.

should you offer free shipping
Source: passionplanner.com

Please note that e-commerce sites that sell luxury items or big-ticket items generally set higher minimum amounts to qualify for free shipping. This strategy works very well to increase AOV. So, don’t forget about it. Keep this wonderful strategy in your back pocket.

#4: Offer Free Shipping on Certain Products

A killer strategy is to offer free shipping on specific items only. This tactic works well with slow and best sellers. With slow sellers, free shipping allows you to clear inventory. With best sellers, this approach helps you turbocharge sales.

But here’s another twist: you can offer free shipping on bundles. 

Yes, that’s right!

Bundling slow and best sellers plus free shipping is a great way to clear inventory and turbocharge sales. So, consider creating curated bundles and packs. You can increase AOV, revenue, and profitability all at once. Shopify free shipping is the key to putting customers over the top.

#5: Offer Automatic Free Shipping

Offering automatic free shipping across the board can be a great way to get everything out the door. However, there’s a catch to this tactic. It must be time-sensitive. For example, a one-hour flash sale that includes free shipping can be a fantastic way to kick your holiday season sales into overdrive. 

pros and cons of free shipping

Please bear in mind that offering Shopify automatic free shipping should be used sparingly. This strategy is a treat. Just give customers a heads-up, so they know what to expect. Nevertheless, it’s always good to keep the element of surprise on hand.

How to Setup Shopify Free Shipping

If you’ve decided to offer free shipping on your Shopify store, here’s how you can set it up. Please refer to this handy guide whenever you need to.

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings> Shipping and delivery.

shopify free shipping on first order
Source: help.shopify.com

2. Next to General Shipping rates, click Manage.

free shipping on certain products shopify
Source: help.shopify.com

3. For each shipping zone, add the free shipping rate:

shopify free shipping code
Source: help.shopify.com

4. Click Done, and then click Save

That’s all there is to it!

This way is the quickest and easiest to set up Shopify free shipping. If you’re ready to make the most of free shipping this holiday season, this is the best way to do it.

Grow your sales with high-performing deals.

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