10 free shipping email examples that turn offers into orders

Reading Time: 9 minutes

A free shipping email is a proven conversion booster that can increase your average order value by enticing customers to meet spending thresholds.

Taking inspiration from successful free shipping campaigns can help you perfect this strategy and deliver results for your ecommerce business. 

Omnisend’s intuitive drag-and-drop email builder makes it effortless to create and automate free shipping campaigns. You can also track open, click, and conversion rates and use that data to optimize messaging and timing for better results. 

Join us below for free shipping email examples and ideas you can steal.

What is a free shipping email?

A free shipping email is a promotional message to your customers announcing that you’ll cover their delivery costs, either as a limited-time offer or when they meet certain conditions.

You could use free shipping emails to encourage larger purchases with minimum spend thresholds, clear seasonal inventory, stand out during holiday sales, and win back shoppers who have abandoned their carts.

The word “free” creates a powerful emotional response in buyers. It shifts their focus from what they might lose (money) to what they’ll gain (savings), making them more likely to buy.

10 free shipping email examples you can learn from

Check out these free shipping emails for inspiration in your campaigns:

1. Outdoor Research

Subject line: Welcome! Here’s your exclusive Free Shipping code

Outdoor Research uses free shipping in its welcome series to encourage subscribers to start shopping. The email’s subject line uses exclusivity to make the subscriber feel special, “Welcome! Here’s your exclusive Free Shipping code.”

Opening the email reveals a yellow banner with a “Shop Now” CTA button, an offer clarification, and a code for the subscriber to use. Below that, there’s a high-quality image of a customer smiling with a “Get Free Shipping!” heading overlay. 

What you can learn from it 

Place free shipping offers prominently, use welcoming imagery, and create exclusivity with personalized codes to motivate first-time purchases.

2. Levain Bakery

Subject line: BAKE SALE: Cookies Ship Free ?

Levain Bakery offers free shipping in its back-to-school promotions to encourage larger purchases of eight and 12-pack cookies. The subject line “BAKE SALE: Cookies Ship Free ?” delivers immediate value with an eye-catching emoji. 

A beige email body and a dark blue “FREE SHIPPING” heading lead the design before a product clarification and a fantastic image of its cookie boxes. Then, there’s a code and a CTA button that says “Send Cookies.”

What you can learn from it 

Use seasonal events to make bulk purchases more attractive while keeping your messaging simple and product-focused through clear offers and engaging visuals. 

3. YETI

Subject line: Free Shipping For Father’s Day

Premium cooler and drinkware brand Yeti uses free shipping emails to promote a curated collection of Father’s Day products. The subject line “Free Shipping For Father’s Day” is as simple as it gets to encourage open rates. 

The email opens with a logo and a product image that says “Free Father’s Day Shipping” to complement the subject line. Subscribers can then click the “SHOP GIFT GUIDE!” CTA button to find the collection and start shopping.

What you can learn from it

Use straightforward subject lines and consistent messaging across your email’s elements to promote curated collections during gift-giving seasons.

4. CB2

Subject line: FREE SHIPPING. (PH: with bonus dog gif.)

Modern furniture store CB2 uses free shipping emails to encourage spending above $49. Its subject line “FREE SHIPPING (PH: with bonus dog gif)” teases something fun, and opening the email doesn’t disappoint!

Opening the email reveals that hotly anticipated dog GIF and a clear “FREE SHIPPING” offer on “eligible items in orders of $49 or more.” It also states the offer “ends tonight,” creating FOMO (fear of missing out) to entice spending.

What you can learn from it 

Use funny email elements and time-sensitive language to transform standard threshold-based offers into entertaining, urgency-driven promotions.

5. King Arthur Baking

Subject line: Free Shipping Ends Soon!

King Arthur Baking’s free shipping emails use urgency tactics and threshold offers to encourage shopping and minimum order values. Its subject line “Free Shipping Ends Soon!” creates instant FOMO, which can help increase open rates. 

The email kicks off with a logo and an “Ends Soon” heading followed by “Free Shipping on orders over $100.” You don’t get any clearer than that. It then uses an image of delectable cupcakes with links to product categories and customer favorites. 

What you can learn from it 

Use clear minimum spend thresholds alongside urgent messaging, then follow with appetizing product imagery to inspire larger purchases.

6. Frank Body

Subject line: Babe, free shipping this holiday season

Cruelty-free skincare brand Frank Body uses free shipping emails during the holidays to promote gifting. Its subject line, “Babe, free shipping this holiday season,” clearly understands its audience and states the email’s intent upfront. 

The email is light pink with black text set into white boxes to match Frank Body’s logo for branding cohesiveness. An image of a woman smiling with a gift box draws attention to the heading “Free Shipping these holidays.” 

What you can learn from it

Use consistent brand voice and visuals throughout your holiday promotions to make free shipping offers feel like a natural extension of your identity.

7. Moo

Subject line: Free what? FREE SHIPPING

Online printing company MOO uses surprise in its subject line, “Free what? FREE SHIPPING,” to encourage subscribers to open the email. The email leads with the MOO logo and the heading “FREE SHIPPING on all the things” before clarifying that the offer is for orders over $75.

The email’s design is minimalist, with a light purple background and white text. Its animated imagery sets it apart — the whole body is a GIF, looping products to show more of MOO’s range without taking up more screen real estate. 

What you can learn from it

Use GIFs in emails alongside playful subject lines to make threshold-based shipping offers more engaging while showcasing your product range.

8. Aura Bora

Subject line: fyi: you’ve got good taste

Sparkling water brand Aura Bora takes a unique approach to free shipping emails with the subject line “FYI: you’ve got good taste” — it says nothing about free shipping but is interesting enough to encourage open rates. 

Opening the email reveals a “FREE SHIPPING FOR 24 HOURS (CODE BELOW!)” offer, a yellow email body, red headings, and clear CTAs. The free shipping offer is repeated three times before product listings.

What you can learn from it

Unconventional subject lines that don’t mention shipping can reduce subscriber fatigue from similar offers and lead to higher open rates. 

9. Attn: Grace

Subject line: ✨ Free Shipping Sitewide Ends Sunday ✨

Incontinence pad retailer Attn: Grace uses emojis in its subject line “✨ Free Shipping Sitewide Ends Sunday ✨” to grab attention. Using “sitewide” and “ends Sunday” combines unlimited potential with urgency to drive immediate action.

The email template has a pink body with black headings and a single illustration of a lady riding a bicycle with her leg in the air to symbolize freedom. “Free shipping” is mentioned three times in the email with a “SHOP NOW” CTA button. 

What you can learn from it 

Use emojis and universal phrases like “sitewide” alongside specific end dates to make free shipping offers appealing and actionable.

10. Hem

Subject line: Last call for free shipping!

Furniture and homeware retailer Hem takes a simplistic approach to free shipping emails. It uses the last chance subject line “Last call for free shipping!” to instill urgency into its promotion, and the email loads without clearly presenting the offer. 

Instead, “Free shipping” is split between the top and bottom of an image of a gorgeous glass vase with flowers, emphasizing the artistic nature of its products while maintaining the promotional message.

What you can learn from it 

Use creative design layouts to blend your promotional message with your brand’s aesthetic, making free shipping feel part of the artistic experience.

Tips for creating high-converting free shipping emails

Follow these tips to create free shipping emails that convert:

Use the offer to solve a specific pain point 

Position free shipping offers as solutions, not announcements. Your email messaging should address their concerns, such as “No more shipping costs holding you back” or “Shop worry-free with shipping on us.” 

Acknowledging specific scenarios builds trust, too — phrases like “Still thinking about that cart you left behind? We’ll cover the shipping!” make customers feel understood instead of just being offered another discount.

Highlight the free shipping offer 

Your subject line sells the free shipping promise first. “Free Shipping This Weekend” is more effective than “Weekend-Only Free Shipping.” Your preview text should reinforce this message immediately, giving readers two quick confirmations.

Place your free shipping message prominently near the top of emails, where it catches immediate attention. Contrasting colors, larger fonts, and eye-catching elements help it stand out from the surrounding content. 

Strategically mention the free shipping offer two or three times throughout your email, perhaps in the header, body copy, and near the CTA.

Include a strong CTA 

Compelling calls to action guide readers toward their next steps. Skip generic “Shop Now” buttons in favor of specific language, such as “Start Your Free Shipping Order” or “Claim Your Free Shipping.” 

Visual contrast through size and color draws attention while staying true to your brand. Strategic placement after building value, but before fine print, maximizes impact. 

Longer emails may benefit from multiple distinct CTAs, each serving a clear purpose to reduce fatigue and turn interested readers into customers.

Balance visuals and text

Powerful visuals grab attention, but balance matters. While high-resolution photos and graphics make your free shipping offer pop, never create an all-image email — it’s a fast track to spam folders. Keep your text-to-image ratio at 80:20 to protect delivery rates.

Many email clients block images by default, so your key message must work without them. Layer your approach with styled text for the main offer, then enhance it with visuals that complement rather than carry your message. 

Every image in your free shipping email should serve a purpose, whether showcasing products or drawing eyes to your shipping offer.

Time the email based on customer behavior 

Your free shipping offers need perfect timing, not random blasts. Watch for cart abandoners, hesitant browsers, and customers who regularly land under your free shipping threshold.

Use transactional data and purchase behaviors to spot the right moment. Omnisend’s segmentation lets you filter by website activity, order value, and purchase recency to identify ready-to-buy customers.

Match offers to peak browsing times and monitor shopping behavior to catch your customers when shipping costs matter most to them.

30 free shipping email subject lines you can steal

Your free shipping email needs a compelling subject line to encourage open rates. Here are 30 free shipping email subject lines that mix urgency, clarity, and creativity to help your promotion stand out in crowded inboxes:

1. Free shipping for VIPs ?
2. Free shipping makes every cart happy
3. Your shipping is officially free today
4. Free shipping on everything ?
5. You shop, we’ll cover shipping… ?
6. Free shipping with no minimum spend
7. Ship it all free this weekend ?
8. Free shipping across the entire store
9. ? Ends soon: Free shipping today!
10. Free shipping just for being you
11. No shipping costs through midnight
12. Free shipping makes shopping better ?
13. ✨ Free shipping magic starts here!
14. Get excited about free shipping
15. Zero shipping costs this week ?️
16. Free shipping on what you love
17. ? Don’t let free shipping pass you by!
18. Shop more with free shipping
19. Free shipping just got better ⚡
20. Shipping costs? Not today
21. Free shipping whenever you want
22. Free shipping is calling your name ?
23. Let’s celebrate with free shipping
24. Welcome to free shipping heaven
25. Free shipping for everyone ?
26. Shipping fees are taking a holiday
27. ? Start shopping — free shipping is on!
28. Free shipping starts right now ?
29. Ready for all-day free shipping
30. Free shipping because why not ⏰

Wrap up 

Your free shipping offers motivate customers to complete their purchases, transforming shipping costs from a barrier into a sales advantage.

Segmenting your audience based on past orders, cart values, and browsing patterns shows when customers are most likely to respond. Omnisend’s tools automate these messages to reach shoppers at crucial moments.

Start with simple threshold-based offers, measure your conversion rates, and use that data to craft campaigns that match your customers’ buying habits.