Consumers love convenience, even more so when it is cost-effective. They love to see offers and discounts whenever they are shopping online. Free shipping captures the attention of their eyes, instantly making them want to buy the product.
So, it all comes down to the Shopify store owners to analyze the buying behavior of their customers and introduce the free shipping option at the right time. Free shipping can be a savior to both the customer and owners at the same time.
The following blog is an answer to all your queries related to free shipping, like, how to add free shipping on the website, how to set up automatic free shipping on Shopify, how to increase sales through free shipping, and much more.
Does Free Shipping Boost Your Sales? Why is it Important?
Free shipping on Shopify is the driving force in increasing sales, retaining customers, and increasing repetitive sales from the same customers. Free shipping entices users to purchase more products and boosts conversion rates for your business.
Shoppers always thrive for reasonable offers, and when that comes along with free shipping, it is a lottery for them.
However, just the free shipping would not work out all the time; you should promote it by adding some incentives. This can lead to an increase in sales and conversion rates.
How Can You Increase Your Sales with Free Shipping Without Inflating Your Expenses?
The question of how to set up free shipping on Shopify comes along with a tag question of how to increase sales without inflating your expenses. It is vital to look through factors that do not disrupt your finances because of free shipping.
As you venture into having a free shipping program in your Shopify store, you should first look into the margin of the most selling product in your store.
Stepping into something without a proper background check can cause repercussions to your store, so have an in-depth review of every detail that can link to free shipping.
Analyze whether you have a profit margin to introduce the program and check for the payment processes that revolve around the program. Then deep dive into tracking the average order value and put down an estimation of the shipping cost.
Next, jot down the options that can be provided to the customers seeking free shipping. You may also want to increase the minimum order value for free shipping so that it would increase the purchase value.
As a product owner, you can give Shopify free shipping on certain products to customers for bringing sales leads. Constantly track and test the conversion rates of the program. Moreover, be prepared for any worst-case scenarios if the program backfires.
There is a question of if there is a one-size-fits-all approach that is asked regularly. Well, the answer is no. However, businesses can work on customizing their solutions to bring the correct balance without impacting the overall budget.
Which is the Best Time to Offer Free Shipping?
The Shopify store owners should delve deeper and understand the psychology of the customer in their buying journey. Customers scrolling through the products would be drawn towards a particular product and develop an interest in buying that product.
The store owners should step in during this decision-making phase and offer free shipping helping the customers make the purchase.
When the sales are high on specific products or a particular day, it is best to provide free shipping to retain the customers and increase the conversion rate.
Another suitable time to offer free shipping would be when your competitors set up one on their website. Monitor their approach and try to offer free shipping in a distinct way from your competitors.
Moreover, providing free shipping on products that are on the customer’s cart can be a great way of driving the customers to buy the product.
How to Add Free Shipping on Shopify?
The Shopify store allows you to add free shipping customized to your Shopify store by answering your queries on how to set automatic free shipping on Shopify. All you have to do is get to the shipping settings in the admin page and select shipping and delivery.
After which, on the shipping profile, select manage shipping rates. You would be provided with an option to select shipping zones that you want to provide with the free shipping rates. Add the rate as 0 in the shipping rate, give a name, and save the shipping offer.
Shopify store owners are posed with an option to add conditions to the shipping offers. You can set your own rules for shipping which can be based on either weight or value.
After considering the weight or value, you can select the value range within which you want to offer free shipping.
Steps
- Go to Settings from the Shopify Admin.
2. Click on Shipping and delivery.
3. Click Manage rates next to general shipping rates.
4. For every shipping zone add free shipping rate.
5. Make sure that the value stays ZERO.
6. Save when done.
Make Your Free Shipping Plan
The essential step in formulating a plan to execute free shipping is knowing how to create free shipping discount on Shopify. After acquiring the knowledge of the shipping process, you can proceed to create a free shipping plan.
The shipping plan should garner all the information and costs on the shipping invoice. The detailed invoice can help in streamlining the shipping process even more effectively.
The details of the company of the retailers, buyers, and the entire cost of the product with the shipping cost must be provided in the invoice.
Set Up a Shipping Zone
Once the idea of setting up free shipping has found the limelight, the necessary steps are to be addressed immediately, and setting up shipping zones is one among them.
So, being a store owner, you have to select the zones you want to offer free shipping. For instance, if your sales in the European market are higher, you can choose that as your zone for free shipping.
So, only those customers under the shipping zone can avail of the free shipping offer. 88% of consumers view free shipping as the top incentive that would encourage them to shop online more often.
Different Ways to Offer Free Shipping on Shopify
Customers would thrive for Shopify free shipping and discount, and providing the proper shipping rates can be a cherry on the top for them. However, it entirely relies on the Shopify store owner to analyze and provide the right offer on shipping at the right time.
Your shipping rates should gain the trust of your customers, that you would not hike the shipping cost during the order placement and payment process.
The store owners can set up their own shipping rates that are suitable for their business and the customers.
The shipping rates can be modified accordingly through the shipping and delivery option on the settings. Some of the different ways that Shopify allows to set up the shipping in the store are as follows:
A. Default Shipping Rate
There are several ways to boost up the sales, and especially if your sales are already high, you can opt for the default free shipping. The free shipping discount Shopify around the calendar is always welcomed by the customers. However, you have to ensure that it does not affect your business profit.
Apart from that, you can also set up a default rating for the shipping that is fixed for all types of orders from any place. This can also be a booster for customers to have complete trust in your store.
93% of shoppers claim they will take action to qualify for free shipping by adding items to their cart.
B. Free Shipping Over a Certain Value
In some instances, your customers might be thriving to get a lot more on their cart. By grabbing this opportunity wisely, you can opt for Shopify free shipping over amount, where you can give your customers a free shipping option for shopping over a specific value.
This is a price-based condition, and if the customer is looking forward to availing of this option, then they might add more products to their cart in case of being under the limit.
Moreover, the store owners can keep this as the default shipping option by placing it in the general shipping rates of the store profile.
C. Free Shipping Over a Certain Weight
Each of the products comes in various sizes and weights, and the store owners can streamline the shipping rates based on the weights. The range of the cost can depend on the category of the weight of the order that is placed in the cart.
You can keep a separate shipping cost for each weight limit and send out the shipping offers to the customers. This can be beneficial for both you and your customers. You are also posed with an option to set this as a default shipping offer.
D. Specific Products for Free Shipping
When the sales on specific products are pretty high, you can jump in and provide a free shipping option for that particular product. This will not only increase your sales but will also make the customers engrossed in your store for a longer time.
If you have any queries on how to change free shipping on Shopify for a specific product, then the admin page provides you with sufficient information regarding the details.
E. Specific Customers for Free Shipping
The primary goal should be to garner new customers and draw the existing customers to the store again and again. This can be possible only when you make them feel special.
So, in order to make your customers feel welcomed and exceptional in your store, you have to give them special free shipping that can be availed only by them. By looking at the process of how to create a free shipping code on Shopify, you can set up discount codes for those customers.
How to Promote Your Shipping Program
The task of the Shopify store owners does not end with just setting up the program. There is a lot more to it, and the most important one is the promotion of the shipping program.
This can be done with the Shopify free shipping code that allows you to generate codes. These codes are similar to the coupon codes that offer discounts on shipping.
As a store owner, you have to consider specific points before opting for the shipping codes in the Shopify store.
- Keep a limit to the codes and on how many times it can be availed
- Choose the products and collections that are suitable for the offer
Another essential step in promoting the shipping is announcing it on the free shipping bar Shopify to let the customers know and create a deep impression about the store. Ensure to have the bar design tailor-made and highlight it boldly to the audience.
Instead of spending time and money on strategies that might or might not click, focus your efforts where they will produce the most return.
Final Thoughts
You have learned the reasons why you should offer free shipping, the process of setting up free shipping on Shopify, and how to promote your shipping program.
Now you are ready! It is time to apply the steps to set up free shipping on your Shopify store and increase your sales!
