Free Shipping Thresholds: The Decisions That Matter
Offering free shipping on orders above a set value, used to encourage larger orders and reduce abandonment from shipping costs.
Marcus Adeyemi
The key figures
- Cart abandonment
- extra costs such as shipping are a commonly cited reason for abandonment
- Threshold setting
- usually set above the current average order value
- Messaging
- showing progress toward the threshold encourages adding items
- Margins
- shipping costs must be covered by margin
Why this is worth getting right
Shipping costs are a leading cause of cart abandonment, and a well-set threshold can raise order values while protecting margins.
Do this, not that
Do
- Set thresholds based on average order value and margins
- Show progress toward the threshold in the cart
- Advertise the threshold early
- Suggest items that close the gap
- Review thresholds regularly
Don’t
- Thresholds so high they feel unreachable
- Hiding shipping costs until checkout
- Free shipping that erodes all margin
- Changing thresholds without updating messaging
When to bring in help
Our advice Bring in help when shipping costs drive abandonment or erode profits.
Where this comes from
- Baymard Institute — Cart abandonment rate statistics
- Google Merchant Center Help — Set up shipping settings
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
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Where to go next
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