At a glance
Pie split of orders shipped free (zero shipping cost) vs paid shipping. The headline tells you how much of your shipping cost is being absorbed as a promotion versus passed through to customers. Free-shipping mix is the lever most directly correlated with conversion rate but also the largest hidden margin cost on most stores.
Calculation
Calculated automatically from your BigCommerce data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading.Worked example
A US homewares brand on BigCommerce Pro with a $75 free-shipping threshold, last 30 days from 14 Mar 26 to 12 Apr 26.
What’s interesting:
- 69.1% of orders ship free. Healthy for a 80 typical AOV; threshold is well-calibrated to push customers to add one more item.
- 455k/year. That’s a meaningful line item. Cross-check with Total Shipping, the absorbed cost is what the merchant pays the carrier; the customer-paid cost is what Paid orders add back.
- The threshold is doing its job. Below 50% free-shipping share usually means threshold is too high (most carts don’t reach it). Above 80% free share usually means threshold is too low (almost every order qualifies, the threshold no longer drives behaviour). 69% is the sweet spot.
- Raising the threshold 85) would shift ~5-8 pp of orders from free to paid, saving ~85 for 50% of traffic, measure conversion + AOV + absorbed-shipping cost.
- POS pickup is 2.4%, low for a homewares store. Some categories (electronics, fashion) hit 8-15% POS pickup share when in-store experience is strong; homewares is typically 1-5%. If you’re investing in click-and-collect this is the metric to lift.
- **Test a 5-15 without measurable conversion impact, gradually find the cliff.
- Tier shipping by basket size. Free over 4 flat 8 flat below $50. Less binary than free-shipping-or-nothing; preserves margin on small baskets.
- Run a “free shipping with code” promotion instead of permanent free shipping. A code-gated free-shipping campaign trains opt-in behaviour and gives you control over when the absorbed cost runs.
- For B2B Edition, audit contract-level shipping waivers. Some B2B accounts get free shipping on every order regardless of size; review whether that matches the contract terms.
- Pair with BC Channel Revenue Mix, marketplace orders may be paid-shipping by default while web orders are free; the channel mix shifts the apparent share.
Sibling cards merchants should reference together
Reconciling against the vendor’s own dashboard
Where to look in BigCommerce Control Panel: Settings → Shipping shows the configured free-shipping rules and thresholds. Analytics → Sales on Plus / Pro has a “Shipping cost mix” tile that closely mirrors this card. For per-order shipping detail, Orders → All orders → Shipping column shows the at-order-time shipping cost. Why our number may legitimately differ from BC Settings → Shipping:
Cross-connector reconciliation:
Same-metric documentation cross-reference:
shopify.free_vs_paid(planned)adobe_commerce.free_vs_paid(planned)
Known limitations / merchant FAQs
My free share is 95%, is that good? No, it’s too generous. A 95% free-shipping share means almost every order qualifies, which means the threshold isn’t influencing behaviour. Either raise the threshold or accept that “free shipping for everyone” is your shipping policy and stop calling it a threshold. Most stores get the most uplift at 60-75% free share. My free share is 30%, is that bad? Possibly. Below 50% suggests threshold is too high for typical basket size. Customers either don’t see free shipping as achievable or don’t think it’s worth it. Either lower the threshold or run a tier (Y) to soften the binary. Should I include B2B orders in this card? Strategically depends on your contracts. B2B orders often ship free under contract terms; including them in the headline distorts the retail reading. We recommend running a retail-only view for the consumer-facing decisions and a B2B-only view for the contract review. My free shipping is from a code, not a threshold, will this card still work? Yes. The card buckets byshippingCostExTax = 0 regardless of the cause. To see whether the free shipping comes from a threshold rule, a code, or a contract, drill via BC Top Coupons and the Promotions admin.
How does free shipping affect AOV?
Strong positive correlation, but with diminishing returns. Going from no-free-shipping to free-over-50 to free-over-100 thresholds the AOV uplift is usually offset by conversion-rate decline.
Does free shipping increase return rate?
Slightly. Free-shipping orders have ~5-10% higher return rates because the customer feels less commitment (“I can always send it back, the shipping was free”). Pair with Refund Rate when changing the shipping policy.
Should I offer free returns AND free shipping?
Depends on category. Fashion: yes, free returns are table stakes. Homewares: usually paid returns at customer’s cost, with free shipping outbound. Electronics: free shipping outbound, restocking fee on returns. The full economics of free-everything are tough on margin; the right policy reflects category norms.
My marketplace orders all show as paid shipping, why?
Marketplace platforms (Amazon, eBay) typically charge the customer for shipping at marketplace checkout; the cost flows to BC as shippingCostExTax > 0. The customer paid; you didn’t absorb the cost. The label is technically right; just be aware that marketplace-paid shipping is structurally different from retail-paid shipping.
Can I configure different free thresholds for different products?
Yes via BC Marketing → Promotions, you can run threshold rules per category, brand, or even per-product. Useful for high-margin categories (e.g. free shipping over 75 on bedding). Adds operational complexity; most stores stick with a single threshold for simplicity.
**My free shipping costs me 500k AND drives X% incremental conversion, the question is whether X% × revenue exceeds $500k. Run a 4-week A/B (50% see threshold, 50% don’t) to measure the incremental conversion contribution; most stores find the answer is “yes, but barely”.