How to offer free shipping on Shopify in 2025

Reading Time: 11 minutes

With multiple online stores vying for customer attention, offering Shopify free shipping can significantly impact your ecommerce business’s success. As customers become increasingly accustomed to seamless, cost-free delivery options from top players, free shipping could be the deciding factor between a completed purchase and an abandoned cart. 

But let’s face it, free shipping isn’t actually free — somebody has to cover the costs. So, how do you make it work without eating into your profits and benefitting the customers at the same time?

This guide talks about how to offer free shipping on Shopify while maintaining healthy profit margins. We’ll discuss the technical setup process, explore strategic approaches to make free shipping profitable, and share practical tips for promoting your shipping offers effectively to attract and retain customers. 

How to set up free shipping on Shopify

Setting up free shipping on your Shopify store is a crucial business decision, especially since Shippo’s survey in 2023 found that 62% of consumers say they won’t purchase from a retailer that does not offer free shipping options. 

Many store owners are looking for effective ways to do free shipping on Shopify and require Shopify tips to set up a new store. Let’s walk through the process step by step:

• Step 1: Access the shipping settings in Shopify
• Step 2: Set up shipping zones
• Step 3: Add free shipping rates
• Step 4: Set up conditional free shipping

Step 1: Access the shipping settings in Shopify

Setting up a shipping profile is your first step toward implementing free shipping on your Shopify store. This profile will help you organize your products and apply specific shipping rules to different items in your catalog. Here’s how to start:

• Log into your Shopify admin dashboard
• Click Settings in the left sidebar menu (located at the bottom)

• Select Shipping and delivery

• Click Create new profile
• Give your profile a clear name (e.g., “Free shipping products”)
• Click Add products to add free shipping on certain products for this profile

• Choose your products and click Done
• Click Save to store your changes

Step 2: Set up shipping zones

After creating your profile, the next step is setting up shipping zones. These zones define where you’ll offer free shipping and help you manage different geographical regions effectively. 

Here’s how you can do it:

• From your shipping profile, click Add zone
• Enter a zone name (e.g., “United States Free Shipping”)

• Select the countries or regions for this zone
• Click Done to create the zone

When defining your zones, consider shipping carrier coverage, delivery times, and regional shipping costs. 

You can create multiple zones with different conditions to accommodate various markets and customer segments into Shopify free shipping. This flexibility allows you to test free shipping in specific regions before expanding the offer.

Step 3: Add free shipping rates

You’ll need to create the actual free shipping rate within your zones. This step ensures your customers can access your free shipping offer. 

While the technical setup is easy, it’s important to consider how different rates will complement your overall shipping strategy.

• In your shipping zone, click Add rate
• Enter Free Shipping (or your preferred name) in the rate name field
• Set the price to $0

• Click Done
• Click Save to apply your changes

You can add standard shipping rates by clicking Add Rate again, entering your regular shipping rate name, setting the price, and saving your changes. This allows customers who need faster delivery to choose paid shipping options while maintaining free shipping as an attractive alternative.

Step 4: Set up conditional free shipping

Adding Shopify free shipping over a certain amount is often a more sustainable option for your business. As mentioned at the outset, Shippo’s study found that 47% of consumers will spend a minimum amount to qualify for free shipping. 

Whether you want to offer free shipping based on order value or weight, Shopify makes it easy to set up these rules. Setting appropriate conditions ensures you can offer free shipping without compromising profit margins:

• In your shipping zone, click Add rate
• Tap on Add Conditions
• Choose your condition type:

For order value: Select Based on order price and set your minimum amount

For weight: Select Based on item weight and set your weight range

• Click Done to save your condition
• Click Save to apply changes

Consider testing different threshold amounts to find what works best for your business. Monitor how customers respond to your conditions and adjust as needed.

Strategies for offering free shipping profitably

Offering free shipping is an attractive incentive for consumers, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of your profit margin. Here are four proven approaches to offering free shipping while avoiding the loss:

1. Build shipping costs into product pricing

Instead of absorbing shipping costs directly from your margins, consider incorporating the free shipping cost into your product pricing strategy.

This method lets you offer free shipping while managing expenses through minor price adjustments.

Steps to implement

• Calculate your average shipping cost:
  • Review your last 50-100 orders
  • Add up all shipping costs
  • Divide by the number of orders to find your average cost per order
• Adjust your product prices:
  • Increase product prices by your average shipping cost plus a small percentage (say 10%) to account for fluctuations
  • Round up prices to maintain clean price points
  • Monitor your margins weekly to ensure profitability

2. Set a minimum order value for free shipping

Setting a free shipping threshold is one of the most effective strategies. It encourages customers to spend more to qualify for free shipping and can significantly increase your average order value.

Steps to implement

• Determine your current AOV:
  • Go to Shopify Analytics > Dashboards > Sales
  • Find your average order value metric
  • Review the last three to six months of data
• Choose your minimum order value:
  • Set the threshold slightly higher than your current AOV
  • Ensure the threshold covers your shipping costs plus a margin
  • Make it a round number that’s easy to remember (e.g., $50, $75, $100)
• Configure your free shipping rate:
  • From your Shopify dashboard, navigate to Settings
  • Select the Shipping and Delivery option
  • Look for the General shipping rates section and click the Manage button
  • Within each shipping zone where you want to offer this promotion:
    • Select Add Rate to create a new shipping option
    • Give it a clear name like “Free shipping over $50” or “Free delivery on orders $75+”
    • Set the shipping price to $0
    • Add an order minimum condition by specifying your chosen threshold
  • Make sure to click Done, then Save to activate your changes
• Promote your offer:
  • Add a banner to your store header

• Display notifications on the checkout page
• Use progress bars to show customers how close they are to free shipping

• Set up cart abandonment emails highlighting the free shipping threshold
• Consider implementing a sticky header that reminds customers of the free shipping offer

3. Use free shipping as an incentive for new or repeat customers

Learning how to give free shipping on Shopify to specific customer groups can help boost loyalty and encourage repeat purchases. This approach is particularly effective since it targets specific customer segments rather than offering all shoppers free shipping.

Steps to implement for new customers

• Create a welcome series in Omnisend:
  • Set up an automated welcome email
  • Include a time-limited offer to add urgency and FOMO.

• Configure the discount in Shopify:
  • Go to Discounts > Create a discount
  • Choose Free shipping as the type
  • Set first-time purchase conditions
  • Add an expiration date

Steps to implement for repeat customers

• Set up a loyalty program:
  • Install a loyalty app like Smile.io or LoyaltyLion
  • Create free shipping rewards tiers
  • Set achievable point thresholds

4. Offer free shipping on specific products or collections

Conditional Shopify free shipping can help you boost sales of high-margin items or clear slow-moving inventory without affecting your entire catalog’s profitability.

Steps to implement

• Identify target products:
  • Review your Shopify Analytics
  • Look for items with high profit margins
  • Include slow-moving inventory you want to clear
• Create your collection:
  • Go to Products > Collections
  • Click Create collection
  • Name it as you desire (for example, “Free shipping products”)
  • Add your selected items
• Set up the shipping rule:
  • Navigate to Settings > Shipping and delivery
  • Add a new rate for your collection
  • Set conditions for product-specific free shipping
  • Apply to your chosen collection

How to promote free shipping on Shopify

According to Statista, 70% of US shoppers consider free shipping important when shopping online. Therefore, it’s crucial to effectively promote your free shipping offers.

Here’s how to maximize their visibility and impact across different channels:

Highlight free shipping on the homepage and product pages

Strategic placement of free shipping messaging throughout your store can significantly reduce cart abandonment and boost conversions. Ensure that your free shipping offer is prominently displayed for visitors and consistently reinforce it during their shopping experience. 

Key placement areas include:

• A prominent announcement bar at the top of your site remains visible as users navigate through the content.
• Welcome popups for new visitors highlighting your free shipping threshold
• Progress bars in the shopping cart showing distance to free shipping threshold
• Product page notifications near the add-to-cart button
• Sticky mobile banners that stay visible while browsing
• Collection page headers reinforcing the free shipping message
• Exit-intent popups reminding visitors about free shipping options

For maximum impact, use dynamic notifications that update based on cart value. For example, if your free shipping threshold is $50, show messages like “You’re $15 away from free shipping!” This creates urgency and encourages larger purchases. This Omnisend popup template is an excellent example of clearly stating the free shipping on a specific amount:

Use email marketing to promote free shipping

Email marketing remains one of the most effective channels for promoting free shipping offers. Marigold’s 2024 Global Consumer Trends Index shows that 50% of consumers have purchased directly from an email in the past year. Omnisend’s automation features make creating targeted free shipping campaigns that drive conversions easy.

Here’s how to leverage Omnisend for your free shipping promotions:

• Set up automated welcome emails offering free shipping to new subscribers
• Create cart abandonment workflows that include free shipping incentives
• Send threshold reminder emails when customers are close to qualifying
• Design seasonal campaigns highlighting limited-time free shipping offers
• Implement post-purchase emails promoting free shipping for repeat orders
• Create VIP customer segments with exclusive free shipping benefits
• Develop win-back campaigns featuring free shipping offers for inactive customers

Omnisend’s powerful segmentation tools let you personalize these messages based on customer behavior, purchase history, and cart value. You can automatically trigger different free shipping offers for first-time buyers, loyal customers, or shoppers with specific cart values.

Promote free shipping on social media and ads

Integrating paid advertising, social media, and email marketing provides excellent opportunities to promote your free shipping offers and drive traffic to your store. Create engaging content highlighting your free shipping policy across platforms where your target audience is most active, like Facebook or Instagram.

Effective social media promotional strategies include:

• Regular organic posts announcing free shipping offers
• Instagram Stories with swipe-up links to featured products
• Facebook and Instagram ads targeting abandoned cart audiences
• Pinterest pins highlighting free shipping on specific collections
• Social proof posts showing happy customers who took advantage of free shipping
• TikTok videos showcasing products that qualify for free shipping
• Influencer collaborations emphasizing your free shipping policy

For paid campaigns, create specific landing pages that emphasize your free shipping offer and make it easy for customers to reach your free shipping threshold.

Add free shipping details to the checkout process

The checkout process is your final opportunity to convert customers with free shipping offers. Clear communication at this stage can help reduce cart abandonment and increase order values.

Implement these Shopify checkout customization techniques:

• Display free shipping eligibility prominently in the cart summary
• Show a progress bar indicating how close customers are to qualifying
• Recommend products that would help reach the free shipping threshold
• Highlight estimated delivery dates for free shipping options
• Include free shipping messaging in your cart abandonment email series
• Add a shipping calculator early in the checkout process
• Provide clear messaging about shipping restrictions or exclusions
• Display multiple shipping options with free shipping highlighted

Ensure your checkout process automatically applies free shipping when conditions are met and is easily understandable by the customers if there are any requirements or restrictions to avoid customer confusion and support issues.

Consider adding a checkout timer or urgency messaging for limited-time free shipping promotions, and always provide easy navigation back to shopping if customers want to add more items to qualify for free shipping. 

Mistakes to avoid when offering free shipping on Shopify

Offering free shipping can be beneficial for your business. However, it may adversely affect your profitability if not executed correctly. Here are three critical mistakes to avoid when setting up free shipping on your Shopify store:

1. Not calculating costs correctly

Many store owners offer free shipping without understanding their actual shipping expenses. Ensure you:

• Factor in all costs, including packaging materials, handling time, shipping insurance, and carrier rates
• Consider weight variations across your product range and how they affect shipping costs
• Include a buffer for rate increases and peak season surcharges
• Calculate your average shipping cost per order before making any free shipping decisions

2. Using free shipping without a strategy

• Avoid offering blanket free shipping just because competitors do it
• Analyze your average order value and set free shipping thresholds that make financial sense
• Consider using free shipping strategically for specific:
  • Customer segments (new vs. returning customers)
  • Products (high-margin items or slow-moving inventory)
  • Seasons (holiday promotions or slow periods)
• Track the impact on your margins and adjust your strategy based on results

3. Ignoring international shipping costs

• International shipping rates can be significantly higher than domestic rates
• Consider limiting free shipping to domestic orders only
• If offering international free shipping:
  • Set country-specific minimum order values
  • Create separate shipping zones with different thresholds
  • Exclude regions where shipping costs are prohibitively expensive
• Be transparent about international shipping restrictions to avoid customer confusion

By avoiding these common pitfalls and taking a strategic approach to free shipping, you can create a sustainable program that benefits your customers and your bottom line.

Conclusion

Research shows that Shopify’s free shipping continues to be a major factor in online purchasing decisions, making it a crucial tool for the growth of your Shopify store.

Our comprehensive guide offers proven methods to help you implement profitable shipping strategies that satisfy customer expectations.

Start with the basics by configuring your shipping settings, creating appropriate rates, and setting up conditions that align with your business goals. Then, focus on implementing profitable strategies.

The key to success lies in effectively promoting your free shipping offers across all channels — from your storefront to email campaigns and social media. Carefully calculate costs, develop a clear strategy, and consider geographical limitations to avoid common pitfalls.

Plus, with a tool like Omnisend, you can use powerful automation features to set up targeted messages that highlight your free shipping thresholds and encourage larger purchases.

FAQs