Shipping costs · 12 Nov 2026 · 6 min read
Free shipping strategy: whether to offer it and where to set the minimum
Free shipping can lift conversion, but someone always pays for the delivery. This guide shows how to test the idea with your own numbers, choose a free shipping minimum and display costs before checkout.
The short answer
Offer free shipping only after checking that your margin on a typical order can carry the delivery cost. Many stores set a free shipping minimum slightly above their usual basket, so shoppers add one more item. Work from your own order data, show delivery costs on the product page and in the cart, and test the minimum before you keep it.
Free shipping is a cost you choose to carry
A free shipping strategy begins with one fact: free shipping moves the delivery cost from the shopper to you. Either it comes out of your margin, or it is built into your prices, or it is recovered through a minimum order. Shoppers dislike paying extra for delivery, which is why the offer works, but the carrier still sends an invoice.
So the useful question is not whether free shipping increases orders. It usually has some effect. The question is whether the extra orders, or the larger baskets, pay for the delivery you give away. That depends on your margin, your products, your carriers and your customers, and no general rule can replace your own figures.
Ways to handle shipping cost
| Approach | How it works | Suits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free on every order | Delivery cost sits inside prices or margin | Higher-margin products with similar parcel sizes | Small orders can lose money |
| Free above a minimum | Shoppers add items to reach the minimum | Stores with a spread of basket values | A minimum set too high is ignored |
| Flat rate | One delivery price for every order | Products of similar size and weight | Heavy or distant orders cost more than the flat rate |
| Calculated by weight and zone | Price follows the carrier's rates | Mixed catalogues, bulky goods, international orders | Needs early estimates, or shoppers feel ambushed |
| Free for members or subscribers | Delivery is part of a membership or recurring order | Stores with repeat buyers | Members must see the benefit clearly |
| Free collection | Shopper picks up in person | Stores with a shop or pickup point | Needs space and staff time |
Mixing approaches is normal. A store may offer free delivery above a minimum in its home country and calculated rates elsewhere. The more variants you offer, the more care the cart and checkout need to explain them.
Build a free shipping strategy from your own sums
Start with a short list of facts from your own records.
- What a typical order is worth, and how orders spread around that figure.
- The margin you keep on a typical order after the product cost.
- What the carrier actually charges you for your usual parcels, by weight and destination, plus packaging.
- How often orders come back, and who pays for the return journey.
Then compare. If delivery for your most common parcel takes a third of what you earn on a typical order, free shipping on every order removes a third of your profit on that order unless it brings in extra sales or larger baskets. If delivery takes a small slice of the margin, the offer is easy to afford. Do the same for your smallest and your heaviest orders, because they are where free shipping hurts most.
A free shipping offer also has to survive discounts. If a discount code takes an order below the minimum, decide in advance whether the minimum applies before or after the discount, and say which on the page.
How to pick the minimum
Set the minimum a little above your usual basket, not far above it. A figure only just beyond what most shoppers already spend gives them a reason to add an item. A figure far beyond it is ignored, and the offer becomes decoration.
- Look at your order values for the past few months. Find where most orders cluster.
- Choose a minimum that sits just above that cluster, where a sensible extra item could reach it.
- Check that you have affordable products that help shoppers reach the minimum honestly. Shoppers who add something they do not want will return it.
- Confirm that orders just above the minimum still make a profit after delivery.
- Run it for a fixed period. Compare average order value and profit per order, not conversion rate alone.
- Set separate minimums for countries or zones where delivery costs differ.
- Review it each season and whenever carrier rates change.
No figure here is a recommendation, because the right one depends on your margin and your customers. It is a number to find, test and keep under review.
Show shipping costs early
Shoppers decide faster when delivery has no surprises. Show it at every step where they might wonder.
- On the product page, a short delivery line with the cost or the minimum for free delivery, and an estimator if costs vary by place.
- In the site header or a thin banner, a simple statement of the free shipping minimum, if you have one.
- In the cart, a running estimate and a short message showing how much more is needed for free delivery.
- At checkout, the same figures as in the cart, with nothing new added.
- For international shoppers, an early way to choose the country, so prices and rules fit.
Plain text on the product page also helps search engines and assistants understand your delivery terms. The ecommerce SEO guide for beginners covers how product pages are read, and the checkout optimisation guide covers the last steps.
Keep your product listings in line with the checkout
If you advertise through Google Shopping, the shipping costs you submit have to match what you charge at checkout. Google's Merchant Center documentation says an account warning or suspension may follow if submitted costs are lower than the ones charged on the website. The documentation also describes ways to state free shipping, including a free shipping threshold attribute. Check the current documentation before you set it up, and update the feed whenever your minimum changes.
Bulky goods and international orders
Large or heavy items change the sums. Photos that show true size, such as the product beside a familiar object, help shoppers judge whether a delivery cost looks fair. The product photography basics guide covers how to shoot them.
For orders that cross borders, delivery is only part of the cost. Import taxes, duties and handling charges are collected at different points depending on the country and the carrier, and the rules change. Check what applies with your carrier and an accountant, and tell shoppers at checkout whether such charges are included or collected on arrival.
Free shipping, returns and trust
Free delivery sometimes encourages shoppers to order several sizes and send most back, which turns the offer into a cost twice over. If your returns are high for fit reasons, work on the cause before you widen the offer. The guide to reducing ecommerce returns covers it.
Delivery promises belong with other reassurance near the buy button, provided you can keep them. The guide to trust badges and security signals explains which signals are worth showing. A delivery promise you cannot keep does more harm than a plain statement of the cost.
Make the change safely
Change one thing at a time. Write down the date, the old rule and the new rule, so you can read your results later. Let the test run through at least one normal trading cycle for your business, because weekdays and promotions both distort short tests. Tell shoppers what changed, and update every place the old rule appears: banners, product pages, policy pages and feeds.
Platforms differ on per-zone minimums, progress messages in the cart and feeding the figure to listings, and the answer depends on the platform and the theme. If a store needs that built, the ecommerce solutions page describes what Liftup Technologies builds.
Related guides
- Ecommerce solutions
- Ecommerce checkout optimisation
- Ecommerce seo for beginners where to start
- Product photography for online stores basics
- How to Reduce Ecommerce Returns Without Losing Sales
- Trust Badges for Online Stores: Do They Work?
Questions and answers
Should I offer free shipping?
Offer it if your margin on a typical order can carry the delivery cost, or if it brings enough extra orders or larger baskets to pay for itself. Check this against your own records first. If it does not, consider a minimum order, a flat rate or free delivery for members.
How do I decide on a threshold?
Find where most of your order values cluster and set the minimum a little above that point. Check that sensible extra items can bridge the gap and that orders just over the minimum still make a profit. Test for a fixed period and review each season.
How do I show shipping costs early?
Put the cost or the free shipping minimum on the product page, show a running estimate in the cart, and keep checkout figures identical. Let international shoppers choose their country at the start. Do not add new charges at the final step.
Is free shipping better than a discount?
It depends on your products and customers. Some shoppers respond more to free delivery than to a price cut of the same value, others the reverse. Test both against profit per order as well as the number of orders.
Should free shipping apply to every country?
Not necessarily. Delivery costs, duties and customer expectations differ by country. Many stores offer free delivery above a minimum in their main market and calculated rates elsewhere. Say clearly which applies.
What if a discount takes the order below the minimum?
Decide in advance whether the minimum is judged before or after discounts, and state the rule on the page and in the cart. Either choice works if it is clear. Hidden rules cause complaints and abandoned baskets.
Can I remove free shipping later?
Yes, but tell shoppers and update every page, banner and product feed that mentions it. A change often works better as a higher minimum than as a sudden withdrawal. Watch profit per order and repeat purchases after the change.
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