Free shipping threshold calculator

An order can carry free shipping when the margin it leaves is at least as large as the shipping cost. Dividing the shipping cost by the gross margin gives the smallest order value at which that is true. Shipping of 9.50 dollars at a 55 percent margin needs an order of about 17.27 dollars just to cover the carrier, and every dollar above that is margin the store keeps. The threshold you test is compared with that floor and with your current average order, and the calculator shows what a qualifying order leaves after shipping is paid.

A threshold slightly above the current average order nudges shoppers to add an item; a threshold far above it is ignored. The stretch figure shows how far above your average the tested threshold sits. Most stores find a stretch of roughly fifteen to thirty percent reachable, but the right number depends on how easy it is to add a second item and on the price gaps in the catalog. Pair the threshold with a cart message that shows how much more the shopper needs to add.

It assumes one shipping cost per order. Heavy or bulky items, remote regions and multi-parcel orders cost more and may need their own rules or a higher threshold for those products. It also ignores the effect on conversion rate: a threshold usually raises average order value and can raise or lower conversion, which is why the change should be tested against the store's own numbers rather than set once and forgotten.