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Free shipping

Customers may often abandon their shopping carts because of the extra shipping costs. By offering free shipping options at checkout you can encourage your customers to complete their orders. There are different ways of setting up free shipping options in your online store.

By destination

Usually, free shipping is offered within a certain area. For example, you might want to offer free delivery in your city with a paid delivery to suburban areas or free shipping across your country with no shipping to other countries, etc.

To offer free shipping for a certain area:

  1. From your Ecwid admin, go to Shipping & Pickup.
  2. Click + Add Shipping.
  3. Select how you ship your goods (by a suggested shipping carrier or other carriers) and click Set up.
  4. In the “Free shipping” section, click Set Up Free Shipping.
  5. Fill in the Shipping name at checkout, it will be displayed for customers.
  6. Optional: Click Add description for customers and enter the details you want to display at checkout. For example, enter the delivery speed and time it takes for orders to arrive when shipped with this method.
  7. Optional: Click Limit availability by order subtotal, if you want to offer this shipping option only to customers with bigger carts. Then specify the minimum order subtotal, i.e. the sum of all items in the cart before adding shipping costs and discounts. When this limit is reached, customers will be able to choose this shipping option at checkout.
    If you want to offer free shipping for all order subtotals, leave the field with the default 0.00 amount.
  8. Optional: Click Show approximate delivery date at checkout to display the approximate delivery date next to shipping options at the checkout.
    When it comes to shipping, customers want to know when they will receive their order. A specific delivery date at checkout gives your buyers a better customer experience — they can clearly understand when to expect to receive their order, resulting in a higher number of successful sales.
    Then set it up:
    • In the Estimated transit time, specify how long it usually takes for the package to be delivered after being handed to the shipping company. You can find the information at the carriers’ website.
    • In the Days when packages are delivered, specify days of the week when your orders can be delivered. These days will be taken into account when calculating and displaying the approximate delivery date for customers at checkout.
    • In the Order preparation time specify how many days it usually takes for you to prepare an order. That time will be taken into account when calculating the delivery date for customers.
    • In the Days when you pack orders specify when you pack orders for shipment. Also, set the final time to pack orders in the I pack orders received past this time on the next day box. Your schedule will be taken into account when calculating the delivery date for customers.
    Your Ecwid store will automatically calculate the delivery time and show it at the checkout so your customers can clearly see it.
  9. Click Set Shipping Region and choose the area where you want to offer free shipping.
    • No limitations. Your free shipping option will be available to all shipping addresses at checkout. Learn more about Adding and managing destination zones.
    • Limiting by country or region. Use this if you deliver across the country or abroad.
    • Limiting by ZIP/postal code. Use this if you want to specify delivery options. E.g., exclude particular addresses or cities.
    • Drawing a zone on a map. Best choice for local delivery. 

  10. Click Save & Finish.

Now the free shipping option will be offered for all orders that should be shipped within the selected area:

Free_shipping__1_.png

For your local customers, you can also offer a free in-store pickup.

Over a set subtotal

You can offer free shipping for orders above a certain sum. This can motivate customers to buy more than they have planned to. For example, you can offer free shipping over $130 subtotal and $5 shipping for orders below that subtotal to your customers.

To offer free shipping for orders over a certain subtotal:

  1. From your Ecwid admin, go to Shipping & Pickup.
  2. Click + Add Shipping.
  3. Select how you ship your goods and click Set up.
  4. In the Conditional free shipping section, click Set Up Conditions.
  5. Enter the Shipping name at checkout that will be displayed for customers.
  6. Set the subtotal range over which the shipping will be free. Click Add Row to add other ranges and rates for them.
    Here is an example of how to set up free shipping on all orders over $130 subtotal and with $5 shipping costs for the rest:

    Free_shipping__3_.png

  7. From the Table based on, choose Subtotal:

    Free_shipping__2_.png

  8. Optional: Click Add description for customers and enter the details that you want to display at checkout. For example, enter the delivery speed and time it takes for orders to arrive with this shipping option.
  9. Optional: Сlick Limit availability by order subtotal, if you want to make this delivery option available only to orders over a certain sum while not changing the rates in the table, and enter the minimum subtotal amount. If the order subtotal is below the specified amount, the shipping option will be greyed out at checkout showing the required subtotal.
  10. Optional: Click Show approximate delivery date at checkout to display for your customers the approximate delivery date next to delivery options at the checkout. Then set it up: specify how long it usually takes for the shipping company to deliver the package (estimated transit time), at what days of the week your orders are delivered (days when packages are delivered), how many days it usually takes for you to prepare an order (order preparation time) when you pack orders for shipment (days when you pack orders). This time will be taken into account when calculating the delivery date for customers.
  11. Click Set shipping region to specify the area where you offer this shipping option.
  12. Click Save & Finish. Repeat the above steps for another delivery zone, if necessary.

Now your customers with orders over the set subtotal range will be offered free shipping at checkout.

On a per-product basis

You can promote particular products (or product categories) in your catalog by offering free shipping for them.

You can enable free shipping for several items in bulk via Mass Update.

To set up free shipping for a particular item in your store:

  1. From your Ecwid admin, go to Catalog → Products.
  2. Open the details of a product that you want to ship for free.
  3. Switch to the Shipping & Pickup tab.
  4. In the Shipping rates section, check the Free Shipping option.

Free_shipping_at_17.21.01.png

  1. Click Save.

When the option is enabled for a product, customers won’t be charged for shipping this item at checkout.

You can let your customers know that a product has free shipping by adding a product ribbon or subtitle.

With a discount coupon

You can offer free shipping to all or certain customers by creating a discount coupon for Free Shipping. You can also connect specific shipping methods to a discount coupon so that only specific shipping or delivery methods will become free for customers after applying coupon. Shoppers can enter their coupon code in the special field in the shopping cart to get free shipping on their order:

Free_shipping__1_.gif

Learn about creating discount coupons and informing customers about ongoing promotions.

To show your free shipping option in the cart as the estimated shipping for the eligible orders, you can set it as your first shipping option when sorting your delivery options.
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