Free shipping is one of those marketing gimmicks online retailers use to convert more customers. Even so, free shipping isn’t always the best shipping strategy for an eCommerce setup.
While there may be some upfront costs in maintaining a policy of free shipping, consumers are highly incentivized by it. Most consumers have an impulse to purchase from a store with a free shipping incentive, but the merchant still needs to take into account any operational costs attached to a product.
You can use this model for clients who meet a fixed condition. Most online stores offer free shipping if a customer purchases a number of products that are above a specified amount, or the charge of the customer's order exceeds a certain set amount.
How does free shipping work in ReadyCMS
Free shipping in ReadyCMS is enabled either through shipping rules or discounts.
- Free shipping rule
When setting shipping rates (either price-based or weight-based), you can define a condition that allows the shipping rate amount to equals 0.For example:
Orders over X amount of money have a shipping rate equal to 0. - Free shipping and discounts
When you decide on your free shipping strategy, create the discount rule, set the conditions, and select Free shipping as a discount option (instead of a percentage-based or fixed amount discount).
Whether it's going to be a free shipping discount for orders over a certain amount of money, or free shipping for orders that have a certain amount of products purchased, or something entirely different, it is up to you to define in the discount rule.
Tip:
You can have multiple free shipping rules. Choosing which rule is activated (and thus being applied) would depend on your goals and strategies.
To learn more about the discounts and how to create discount rules, refer to the Manage discount rules page.