Online shoppers love to make purchases as easy as possible, and “free shipping” is one of the realest ways to butter them up so they choose your shop again and again (sometimes it’s even a baseline expectation in ecommerce).
Shopify free shipping can be your strategic lever to improve conversion rate, increase AOV and make customers trust you with their decision. Read this guide if you want to learn how to set up free shipping on Shopify step by step, how to structure it to boost AOV instead of hurting margins, and how to avoid the most common mistakes merchants make when implementing it.
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Why Free Shipping Is So Powerful for E-commerce
It’s always a winning point when a shop offers free shipping. Since customers choose these shops most of the time, the purchase is more likely to go through, hence the higher conversion rate.
Also, many abandoned carts happen at the final step, when shipping fees appear. A Shopify free shipping setup removes that late-stage surprise and reduces drop-off significantly.
Free shipping also increases AOV (When Tied to a Threshold), aka conditional free shipping options. Setting a minimum order value (like “Free shipping on orders over $75”) encourages customers to add one more product to unlock the benefit, and that’s your AOV rise.
🔸39% of shoppers abandon because “extra costs” (shipping, tax, fees) are high at checkout.
🔸58% of online shoppers add extra items specifically to reach a free-shipping threshold.
The Psychology Behind It
Free shipping might not make the purchase cheaper, but it sure does add value to it. This kind of value activates strong behavioral triggers. It leverages loss aversion, because shoppers don’t want to “miss” a free benefit. And the classic “Only $X away from free shipping” message creates a progress effect that nudges customers to add more items to the cart.
How to Set Up Free Shipping on Shopify (Step-by-Step)
wondering how to set up free shipping on Shopify? Is there a button? Here’s how to offer this to your customers through the admin panel:
1. Navigate to Shipping Settings
- Go to your shop’s admin panel and from the left menu, click on “Shipping and Delivery”.
- Click on “Create a custom profile” to set the rate or make the shipping free.
2. Create a Free Shipping Rate
- Select products, add shipping zones and determine the rate (click on the “add rate” button).
- Now if you put 0 in the rate field, the shipping goes free for that set of products.
3. Set Conditions (Threshold or Product-Based)
- You can setup “conditional pricing” for your shipping fees. They’re based on item weight and order price, and you can select and set them in the “rate” section.
Shopify Free Shipping Threshold – $50, $75, or $100?
Having a free shipping threshold means the free shipping option for that purchase “only unlocks” if the cart reaches a certain amount. It’s important where you set the threshold, $50, $75 or 100?
It works best when it’s designed to protect profit and feel achievable to shoppers. In Shopify, you can set this up either as a price-based shipping rate (like a “Free Shipping” only above a minimum cart value) or as an automatic free shipping discount with conditions.
Why Threshoulds protect margin
Free shipping isn’t free for you, so a minimum order value helps you “earn” the shipping cost back through extra gross profit from added items. Shopify supports price-based conditions specifically for this kind of tiered setup.
Why thresholds increase AOV
In a threshould, customers add one more item to unlock the benefit. Research shows the same thing: 58% of online shoppers added items to qualify for free shipping, that’s the mechanism behind AOV lift.
But better keep in mind that:
If your threshold is too easy to hit, many customers who would’ve paid shipping will qualify anyway, so you absorb shipping cost without getting meaningful incremental revenue. If you set it too high, it feels unrealistic and people will stop trying. Look at this example:
If your current AOV is $42, a free shipping over $50 Shopify offer feels close and achievable and it often brings addons.
If you want more lift and your catalog supports easy add-ons, Push the threshold to $75 (better margin buffer, but needs stronger merchandising).
But free shipping over $100 on Shopify usually fits higher-priced categories or when customers commonly buy multiple items; if most carts are under $60, $100 can feel out of reach and reduce motivation.
| Good for | Message Example | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Low-ticket items | “Only $10 away from Free Shipping” | $35 |
| Standard AOV stores | “Spend $50 and ship free” | $50 |
| Bundle-heavy catalogs | “Unlock Free Shipping at $75” | $75 |
| High-margin products | “Free Shipping on premium orders” | $100 |
How to Offer Free Shipping for Specific Products
If you want to enable Shopify free shipping for specific product only (not your entire catalog) the correct method is to use Shipping Profiles in Shopify.
The Proper Method (Using Shipping Profiles)
Shopify allows you to create separate shipping rules for different product groups. Here’s how it works:
Create a Custom Shipping Profile
Go to Settings → Shipping and delivery and create a new shipping profile.Assign Selected Products to That Profile
Add only the products you want to qualify for free shipping.Add a $0 Shipping Rate to That Profile
Inside the profile, create a shipping rate priced at $0 for the desired zones (e.g., Domestic).
When This Strategy Makes Sense
Promotional SKUs
If you’re launching a new product or running a limited campaign, offering free shipping only on that SKU can increase conversion without affecting other margins.
High-Margin Products
If certain items have strong contribution margins, you can absorb shipping cost without hurting profitability.
Clearance Items
Free shipping on clearance products helps move inventory faster while keeping full-price products protected under standard shipping rules.
Best Free Shipping Apps for Shopify
Creating shipping solutions and managing orders is doable within the admin panel, but if you want to scale, automate and manage like a pro, you’ll need apps. Here are the best free shipping app for shopify:
Free Shipping Bar Apps
Hextom: Free Shipping Bar
A classic progress bar that nudges shoppers toward your free-shipping threshold with dynamic messaging, geo/language targeting, scheduling, and design controls. Strong for reducing “only $X away” friction across product, cart, and checkout pages
GP Free Shipping Bar
A lightweight free-shipping progress bar focused on quick setup and clear threshold messaging. Helps lift AOV by showing customers exactly how much more to add for free shipping, with styling options to match your storefront.
Discount Automation Apps
Volume Discounts — Dealeasy
Dealeasy automates tiered pricing with quantity breaks, mix-and-match bundles, BOGO/BXGY, and cart goals like free shipping or gifts. Easily configure offers, show clear savings messaging, and boost AOV storewide, fast.
Rockit Discounts & Sales
Rockit automates scheduled sales by updating product prices and compare-at prices, no codes needed. Bulk-edit discounts across products or collections, add countdown timers and labels, then auto-revert prices after promotions cleanly.
Bundle & Upsell Apps
Fast Bundle
(helps customers reach the free shipping threshold organically)
Fast Bundle lifts cart value with Mix & Match, add-ons, frequently bought together, BXGY, and bundle-as-a-product options, so shoppers naturally cross your free-shipping minimum without heavy discounting. Best when you want AOV-first growth.
Want to increase AOV with free Shipping & smart deals?
While others struggle to push customers above the threshold, smart bundles make that jump feel natural!
Pumper (Quantity Breaks, Bundles & Discounts)
Pumper focuses on quantity breaks and bundle discounts to increase items-per-order. Use tiered pricing and bundle offers to push customers toward your free-shipping threshold faster, especially for replenishment or multi-pack products
Shopify Free Shipping Bar – How to Encourage Bigger Carts
One of the benefits of free shipping options and bars is that they encourage shoppers to buy more items. Imagine a Shopify free shipping bar that claims: “Only $8 away from Free Shipping!”.
This message reframes the situation from extra cost to almost there. Instead of focusing on shipping fees, the shopper focuses on a small, achievable gap, and they will reach to achieve it.
Here’s another example: “Add 1 more item to unlock free delivery.”
This version reduces friction even further. Instead of thinking in dollars, the customer thinks in actions. The instruction is simple, concrete, and easy to execute.
Best Practices to Make Free Shipping Profitable
Free shipping is profitable, but there are some tips that help you execute it in the finest way possible. Get a look:
Never offer free shipping on low: margin products; you risk absorbing logistics costs without meaningful incremental contribution profit.
Always calculate average shipping cost against AOV and gross margin before setting a threshold or automatic free-shipping rule.
Pair free shipping with bundling or volume discounts to increase units per order and protect overall profitability.
Promote the free-shipping threshold clearly on product pages, cart, and header bar to maximize visibility and behavioral impact.
Test different threshold levels quarterly to align with changes in AOV, seasonality, shipping costs, and customer purchasing behavior.
Ready to Maximize Your AOV with Smart Discounts + Free Shipping?
Use Fast Bundle to build high-performing bundles discounts that encourage your customers to spend more!
Should You Offer Free Shipping at All?
Free shipping is powerful, but it is not always the right move for every store. If your margins are thin, absorbing shipping costs can quietly eliminate your contribution profit, especially if customers would have converted anyway. The same risk applies when your average order value is very low; in that case, free shipping may reduce margin without meaningfully increasing cart size.
It can also become problematic when shipping costs fluctuate heavily due to carrier volatility, oversized products, or international fulfillment, making cost forecasting difficult. Finally, if your return rate is high, free shipping compounds the impact because you may end up covering both outbound and return logistics.
In these scenarios, free shipping should be tested carefully and structured around clear financial benchmarks rather than adopted as a default expectation.
FAQ
To enable Shopify free shipping for specific product, use Shipping Profiles. Assign selected products to a custom profile and apply a $0 shipping rate only to that group.
To offer free shipping over $50 Shopify, create a price-based shipping condition in your Shipping settings. Set the minimum order value to $50 and add a $0 rate.
The best free shipping app for Shopify depends on your strategy. Free shipping bar apps promote the threshold, while bundle and upsell apps help customers reach it organically.
- How to Create Shopify Product Bundles (Step-by-Step Guide)
- Shopify Volume Discount: How to Set It Up (Step-by-Step Guide)
- 50 Best Products to Sell on Shopify in 2026
- How to increase Shopify average order value?
- What is Product Bundling? + 15 Benefits of Bundling (2026)
- How to Reduce Shopify Cart Abandonment: 8 Tips for 2026
