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How to set up free subscription shipping

Offering free shipping for subscriptions is an effective way to attract new customers and boost their lifetime value (LTV). You can easily achieve this by using Shopify’s built-in automatic discounts feature. This guide provides a step-by-step tutorial on how to create and test your free subscription shipping discount.



Table of contents



Should I offer free shipping?


Offering free shipping for subscriptions can significantly enhance customer acquisition and retention. Shipping costs are often a major barrier to purchasing, leading to cart abandonment. By removing this cost for subscribers, you provide a strong incentive to subscribe, enhancing the overall value of your service. Over time, free shipping can build loyalty as customers feel they are consistently saving money, leading to longer subscriptions and higher lifetime value (LTV). Additionally, you can limit how many orders receive free shipping to maximize revenue. This guide will walk you through different ways to set up free shipping for your subscription products.



Creating a free subscription automatic discount


  1. Go to the Discounts page in Shopify admin (outside the app) and click Create discount.



  1. Choose Free shipping as the discount type.



  1. Set the discount method to Automatic, then give your discount a Title.



  1. In the Purchase type field, select Subscription to ensure the discount only applies to subscription products.


You must have a product in your subscription plan to see the Purchase type section



  1. Set the Minimum purchase requirements, either by a Minimum purchase amount or Minimum quantity of items.


To apply the discount to all subscriptions, set the minimum quantity to “1”


This setting will apply the free shipping discount without any minimum amounts


  1. In the Recurring payments for subscriptions field, set the number of orders eligible for free shipping. You have three options:


  • Limit discount to the first payment - Free shipping will only be applied to the first order.
  • Limit discount to multiple recurring payments - Free shipping will apply to the first set number of orders, as selected by you.
  • Discount applies to all recurring payments - Free shipping will be applied to every subscription order.


You can always change the shipping price of an existing subscription from the Contracts page of the Super Subscriptions app.


In this example, the free shipping discount will apply for the first 3 orders (including the initial order) of each subscription


  1. Make any additional changes to your discount settings, as needed.


  1. Save your discount settings.



Testing the free shipping discount


  1. In your online store, navigate to a subscription product



  1. Select a subscription option and proceed to checkout



  1. Enter a valid shipping address



  1. The free shipping discount should automatically apply at the checkout



Troubleshooting


If the free shipping discount is not working as expected, please refer to our troubleshooting guide for free subscription shipping.


Conclusion


By following this guide, you can create and test a free shipping discount for subscription products, offering greater value to your customers and boosting retention. If you encounter any difficulties, our support team is here to help ensure the discount works smoothly.

Updated on: 10/28/2024

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