How to Set a Free Shipping Threshold
Choose a delivery threshold customers can reach with a useful purchase, then check that the added contribution covers the shipping subsidy.
Set a free shipping threshold by comparing typical baskets, product contribution and the delivery cost you will absorb. Choose an amount customers can reach with a useful addition, configure eligibility consistently, and test the result against paid shipping. There is no percentage above AOV that is automatically right for every store.
Niwa's storefront assistant can explain your published delivery policy and help shoppers find relevant products. The threshold itself belongs in your shipping settings. The assistant should not invent an amount or promise free delivery when the customer's destination does not qualify.
Examine orders by destination and basket size
Review recent completed orders, including the distribution of merchandise totals. An average alone can be misleading if a few wholesale purchases raise it far above most consumer baskets. Look for common basket amounts and the typical prices of useful accessories.
Separate destinations or shipping zones with materially different costs. A local lightweight parcel and a remote heavy delivery can require different economics. Record the actual carrier cost, packing cost, shipping revenue currently collected and any weight or size changes caused by extra items.
Use a consistent tax and discount basis for the analysis. Your published threshold, any progress message and checkout calculation must agree. Do not compare a tax-exclusive figure with a shopper-facing tax-inclusive target without accounting for the difference.
Calculate the cost of crossing the threshold
Here is a hypothetical merchandise example, excluding tax, fees and packing:
A shopper has $48 of goods in the cart and pays $6 delivery. The store sets free shipping at $60. If the shopper adds a useful $12 item with $5 product cost, that item contributes $7 before other costs.
If the carrier still costs $6 and the store now absorbs that charge, the extra contribution is $1 before fees and packing. If the additional item makes the parcel heavier and delivery costs $9, the same change loses $2 against the original purchase, assuming the original carrier cost was covered by its shipping charge.
The offer also affects shoppers who already spend $60 or more. You may waive delivery revenue on purchases that would have happened anyway. Include those orders in the test rather than counting only baskets that grow to qualify.
Choose a reachable, useful threshold
Shortlist thresholds around real purchase combinations. If shoppers commonly buy a $48 main product and a fitting $12 accessory, $60 is a candidate worth examining. It is an example, not a recommended universal setting.
Reject thresholds that make customers add several unwanted items or buy a costly upgrade merely to save a smaller shipping charge. Keep paid delivery available when a customer prefers the original basket.
For heavy, oversized or remote orders, decide the policy before promoting it. If you need product exclusions or package-specific conditions, verify that your shipping tools can implement them. Core minimum-order free shipping does not establish every exception you might want.
Configure the WooCommerce requirement
Open WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping and edit the applicable shipping zone. Add or edit its Free shipping method, choose a minimum-order requirement, and enter the amount. The official free-shipping guide also describes requirements involving a coupon, including minimum amount OR coupon and minimum amount AND coupon.
When using a minimum amount, review Apply minimum order rule before coupon discount. Unchecked, WooCommerce checks the amount after the coupon discount. Checked, it uses the amount before the discount. Neither choice is universally better; choose the policy you can explain and afford.
For a $60 qualifying basket with a $6 coupon, the after-discount amount is $54. If your policy checks after coupons, the shopper may lose eligibility. Your delivery message must update to reflect that. Make the interaction clear before the shopper reaches the final order total.
Test edge cases before advertising the offer
Use the actual cart and checkout on desktop and mobile. Check a basket just below the threshold, one exactly at it and one above it. Apply and remove a coupon, change the delivery address, remove an item and try an unavailable product.
Also test your store's tax display and any multiple-package behavior. A progress banner is a separate presentation feature, not proof that the shipping method will qualify the order. Inspect the available shipping methods and completed test order.
If Niwa answers a delivery question, ask about both an eligible and an ineligible destination. Prepare the policy information so the response explains the relevant conditions and directs the customer to the cart's actual quote when needed. See how Niwa uses business information and store tools.
Keep the threshold only when the overall result improves
Measure conversion, merchandise revenue, AOV and contribution after actual delivery costs. Compare similar eligible traffic or a controlled test, and allow returns to appear. Review each zone separately if its costs differ.
A threshold may help customers complete a useful set. It can also give away margin on existing orders. Keep it because the full result works, not because more orders display a free-shipping label.
Contact Niwa with your store address and delivery policy if you want customer assistance connected to the information your store actually uses.
