How to Set a Free Shipping Threshold on Shopify

Start by setting your free shipping threshold about 20 percent above your average order value. If your average order is 50, set free shipping at 60. If it is 30, set it at 35. If it is 80, set it at 95.

That is the whole answer for most stores. The rest of this page is when to go higher, and how to make the number actually do something.

Why 20 percent

It is close enough that one more item gets the shopper there, and far enough that they have to add something. Set it lower and you give shipping away to people who were already spending that much. Set it much higher and it reads as unreachable, so shoppers stop trying and just see a shipping fee.

When to go higher than 20 percent

One thing changes the answer: how much you keep from each sale.

Free shipping comes out of your profit on whatever the shopper adds. If you keep most of each sale, a small addition covers it. If you keep only a thin slice, it does not, and you need a bigger gap.

• Healthy margins, like apparel or cosmetics. Twenty percent above your average order is fine. Average 50, threshold 60.
• Thin margins, like electronics or groceries. Go to about 40 percent above. Average 50, threshold 70.
• Heavy or bulky products. Shipping costs you more, so push the gap up regardless of margin.

The one check worth running

Whatever number you land on, ask this: is it one easy add on away?

Look at what people actually tack onto an order, the accessory or the refill or the small extra. If a typical cart is 50, your threshold is 60, and you sell a nice 12 item, that works. The shopper adds one thing and gets there.

If your cheapest add on is 30, a 10 gap is pointless and a 30 gap is a big ask. Move the threshold until the gap matches something you actually sell.

Do not set it too low

Your threshold applies to every order, not just the ones it grows. Customers already spending above it now get free shipping they would have paid for.

So check how many of your current orders already clear the number. If it is most of them, you have not created an incentive, you have just given away your shipping revenue.

Make the cart do the work

A threshold nobody sees does nothing. Four things turn it into orders:

• Say what is left, not what the target is. Add 13 more for free shipping beats Free shipping over 60. It does the thinking for the shopper.
• Put it in the cart. That is where people are adding up. A banner at the top of the site gets seen once and forgotten.
• Suggest something that closes the gap. Telling someone they need 8 more is useful. Showing them a few things around that price, without leaving the cart, is what gets added.
• Make it automatic. Free shipping should appear at checkout with no code typed. A threshold that needs a code loses most of the people it motivated.

How to tell if it is working

Leave it alone for about four weeks, then look at average order value and conversion rate together. One going up while the other drops is not a win.

The clearest signal is clustering. A threshold that works produces a visible bunch of orders sitting just above it. If your orders look the same as before, the number is not motivating anyone and should move.

Common questions

What is a good free shipping threshold on Shopify?

About 20 percent above your average order value. If your average order is 50, set it at 60. Go higher, around 40 percent above, if your profit margins are thin or your products are heavy.

Should I just offer free shipping on everything?

If your margins allow it, yes. It is simpler for shoppers and removes the surprise cost that causes most abandoned carts. Build the shipping cost into your prices. A threshold is the middle ground for stores that cannot absorb it outright.

Do customers need a discount code for free shipping?

No, and they should not. Free shipping should apply by itself at checkout once the cart qualifies. Anything that requires typing a code loses most of the people it motivated.

Where should the free shipping bar go?

In the cart, where shoppers are counting up their order. A progress bar that updates as items are added works better than a static message anywhere else on the site.

Should I add a free gift threshold as well?

It works well as a second milestone, set noticeably above your shipping threshold, so shoppers who just unlocked free delivery have a reason to keep going. Pick something cheap for you, appealing to them, and light enough that it does not raise your postage. Our gift with purchase guide covers the setup.

Putting it in place

Once you have your number, the setup should be dull: a progress bar in the cart that updates as things are added, and free shipping that applies by itself at checkout. Cart Uplift does both in the same cart drawer as its product recommendations, so the items it suggests can be the ones that close the gap, and the discount runs through Shopify discount functions so there is no code for anyone to type. For the wording and design of the bar itself, see our free shipping bar setup guide, and for the other ways to raise order size, our guide to increasing average order value on Shopify.