Last Updated: January 2025
As an E-commerce business owner, one of the most crucial aspects of your operations is shipping. But with so many options and variables to consider, setting up shipping on Shopify can be daunting especially if you are a beginner. But, it doesn’t have to be.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of configuring your shipping options on Shopify in 2025.
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Benefits of Setting up Shipping on Shopify
Before we head to setting up shipping on Shopify, let us discuss what benefits it will yield.
- Shipping labels: Lets you purchase and print shipping labels directly from your Shopify admin interface.
- Discounts: You can benefit from discounted rates for your shipping labels.
- Show shipping info: Display calculated shipping rates or flat rates to your customers at checkout.
- Streamlined fulfillment process: Helps you streamline the fulfillment process by automatically calculating shipping rates, generating shipping labels, and tracking packages.
- Shipping carriers: USPS, UPS, DHL Express, Canada Post, and more are available with Shopify shipping services.
Now, moving on to the article’s core – ‘The step-by-step guide’.
Also, read: Top 10 Shipping Apps For Shopify In 2025 [Tried & Tested]
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Easy Steps to Setup Shipping on Shopify
In this section, we will see how to set up free shipping on Shopify in easy steps.
Prerequisite
Before you start the setup, you need to get familiar with shipping zones and shipping profiles.
- Shipping zones: It is a group of countries or zones that you create to set up the charges.
- Shipping profiles: This is the setting up of shipping prices for specific products and locations.
Five Easy Steps to Setup Free Shipping on Shopify
It is possible to establish free shipping as the default shipping rate for all orders. You can set this to any shipping zone and those customers will not pay for shipping during the checkout. Also, you can set criteria for offering free shipping to customers who buy in high quantities or of high value only.
Step 1. Admin
Go to your Shopify admin. Choose Settings.
Step 2. Pick Shipping
Select Shipping and delivery from the menu.
Step 3. Manage
Under General shipping rates, click on Manage.
Step 4. Add rate & Price field
For every shipping zone, you need to add the free shipping rate. To do this, click on Add rate. Give the rate a name. Make sure the Price field is set to 0.
Step 5. Save
Click Done and then Save to save your changes.
Now, for criteria-based condition, you need to set up a price or weight value to offer free shipping for orders that are beyond a particular price range.
Seven Easy Steps to Setup Free Shipping based on Particular Price/Weight Value
Steps 1 through 4 remain the same, from the above method.
Step 5. Conditions
Click on Add conditions.
Step 6. Set weight/price value
Choose Based on order price. And for weight, select Based on item weight. Enter the minimum values you want to set.
Step 7. Save
Click Done and Save.
In case you want to offer free shipping for specific products, then you need to first create a custom shipping profile with those products. After creating this, you can follow the above-mentioned condition-based steps.
Additionally, you can also set up free shipping for specific customers who are eligible for special shipping discounts. For this, you need to create a free shipping discount first and share it with your customers. They can then enter the discount code during checkout to avail of it.
Also, read: How To Create A Return Shipping Label In Shopify?
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Setbacks of Shopify Shipping
We all know that Shopify offers numerous possibilities to businesses of all sizes. But we are giving you some drawbacks of its shipping solutions, here.
Limited countries
If your store is located or shipping orders from other than the US or Canada, you may not be able to use Shopify Shipping. This means you will need to integrate with alternative shipping apps such as ShipStation, ShipBob, etc., to fulfill your shipping needs.
Third-party carrier shipping
It is possible to add and automate 3rd-party carrier-calculated shipping. But to do this, your store must be on the Advanced Shopify or Plus plan.
Shipping discounts
The shipping discounts vary as per the Shopify plan you subscribe to. However, this discount availability depends on your country.
E-commerce stores
Shopify shipping works only with native Shopify stores. In case you have stores on other eCommerce sites like Amazon or eBay, you cannot avail of Shopify shipping services.
Limited features
There are some limitations with Shopify shipping. Like, shipping insurance worth $200 is included with shipping labels only for US merchants. One more limitation is the bulk printing of shipping labels. This number varies significantly with the plan you choose.
User review
“Where Shopify falls short, and by short, I mean infuriatingly short, is in their shipping features. Four years ago, I dumped Shopify because their platform lacked flexibility in calculating shipping. Four years later, they are still nickel-and-diming customers with adding “carrier calculated” shipping to their cheaper plans for an additional $20/mo—which is mind-boggling given that shipping fees can make or break an online store. Want to offer free shipping above $XXShopify shipping features fail miserably. You will be forced to pay an extra $30/mo for an app.” – Paul B.
Next, as a bonus mention, we would like to introduce you to a great order monitoring tool that integrates with your Shopify store seamlessly.
Also, read: ShipStation Shopify Integration Made Easy: A Step-by-Step Guide
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Saufter, the Best Order Monitoring Software
Saufter is an excellent order monitoring software that can help you streamline the entire order management process. With its unique Ecommerce specific automation features and user-friendly interface, this software lets you track, monitor & manage orders and communicate with customers easily.
Look at the following USPs of Saufter.
- Refund/Exchange: When a customer submits a return/exchange request, Saufter’s automation feature prompts appropriate deals/discounts as an anti-refund strategy. Thus, it helps you reduce the returns rate and increase customer retention.
- Order Modification: Allows your customers to make order changes like changing shipping addresses, changing items, canceling the order, etc on their own.
- Order Tracking: Customers can use the self-service portal to track their order barring the requirement to call the support team. You can also define workflows to send real-time updates to your customers automatically.
- Warranty Issues: The software can enable customers to initiate warranty claim requests on their own without contacting the support team.
- Order Monitoring: Saufter automatically scans all of your orders 24/7 and sends you notifications in case of any shipping delay. You can further share this info proactively with your customers.
In addition, Saufter offers a range of other tools and features that can help you improve your customer service on multiple channels – Shopify, email, live chat, social media, etc.
That’s the Step-by-step Guide for You!
By following the steps outlined in this guide, setting up shipping on Shopify in 2025 should be a breeze for you. Remember to take advantage of the various Shopify shipping features and discounts available to you. And don’t forget to keep an eye on your shipping costs to ensure your business remains profitable.
On the other hand, if you want to incorporate an all-rounder Ecommerce support software for your customer service needs, consider Saufter. We earlier saw its salient features and the channels it supports. Check out more of its intelligent features by clicking on its website link.
Overall, it is a powerful and versatile tool that can help you save time, improve customer satisfaction, and grow sales. Then, wait no further.
