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Hey you guys, let’s talk about how to give your customers free shipping! There are a couple of different ways you can do this in BigCommerce. Before we get started, my name is Kal. I’m a store owner just like you, and I’m also a developer. I’ve been building BigCommerce stores since 2010, and I’ve built quite a few. If you find this helpful, hit subscribe so you can see more of me, and I’ll tell you all kinds of other cool stuff too.
Alright, let me share my screen and talk about the first method.
Method 1: Free Shipping by Location
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This is really good if you have multiple shipping locations or if you just want to keep things simple. This is my go-to first way to look at free shipping. Let me show you.
When you go into Settings > Shipping, you’ll be taken to your shipping zones. You may or may not have more than one configured. I have a United States shipping zone here on my demo store. It’s not really configured, but it’s there. You can click Configure.
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Right here, you’ll see the different shipping carriers, static shipping quotes, and real-time shipping quotes. But you’ll also see up here a Free Shipping Method. This is option number one. If we toggle that on, it gives us some controls, like limiting it to orders over a certain threshold, such as $75. You can choose whether or not to use the discounted order subtotal and decide if products with a fixed shipping cost are ineligible for free shipping.
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For example, if a specific product has a $100 shipping cost because it’s oversized, this setting controls whether that still matters once they qualify for free shipping. So, option number one is in your shipping settings: limit it to orders over a certain amount or offer free shipping for everyone.
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That’s the first method. You just click, submit, and now it’s in place. You can turn it off with the toggle and hit Done at the end.
Method 2: Free Shipping via Promotions
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Free shipping method number two and three are pretty similar, and both use promotions. Let’s go into Marketing > Promotions.
In the new promotion screen (this came out about a year or two ago), there are Automatic Promotions and Coupon Promotions. Automatic promotions don’t require a coupon code, but coupon promotions do. The method is essentially the same; the difference is whether you want to require a coupon code for free shipping or not.
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Let me show you how to do this under an automatic promotion, as that’s probably what most of you will use. To create one, click Create, then select Create with the advanced editor. Here, you can set up free shipping with a start date and specify the targeting rules. For instance, you can choose “spend $100, get free shipping.”
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You can add additional targeting rules here if needed. For example, you can apply this rule to all shipping zones or just certain ones, like the US or Canada. One major difference between setting up free shipping through promotions versus the shipping method is that promotions aren’t permanent, and you can specify if they can be combined with other promotions.
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If you had set this in the shipping method, promotions like “Buy One, Get One” would stack, but with a promotion-based method, you can prevent stacking. Click Create Promotion, and now it’s active. You can toggle it on or off whenever you like.
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If you want to create this with a coupon, it’s the same process, but you’ll add a coupon code at the end. For example, you can set “FREE SHIPPING” as the coupon code.
Method 3: Free Shipping by Product Level
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The last method is offering free shipping at the product level. I don’t really recommend this because it can get messy when some products in a cart have free shipping and others don’t. It can lead to confusing situations where customers think they should get free shipping for their entire order when they really don’t.
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But if you want to do this, you can apply free shipping to individual products via CSV or product editing. To do this, go to Products > View Products, select a product, and scroll down to the Shipping Details section. This is where you can specify a fixed shipping price or toggle free shipping for that product.
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However, I would avoid this method unless it solves a specific problem for you. Managing free shipping on a product basis can be complex, especially if you have a lot of products.
Bonus: ShipperHQ for Advanced Scenarios
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There’s one more method I want to mention, and it’s not a native BigCommerce feature, but an add-on called ShipperHQ. This app offers extremely advanced shipping scenarios and can integrate with more carriers, like DHL. If you have very complicated shipping needs, ShipperHQ is worth considering. It does come with a cost, but it’s highly capable for complex shipping setups.
Conclusion
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I hope this helps you figure out the best way to offer free shipping on BigCommerce. My name is Kal, and I appreciate you watching. Leave me a comment if you’re stuck on anything else, and I’ll make more videos to help you out. If you need a developer for your store, reach out to my team at EpicDesignLabs.com. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one!
