> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Total Shipping Revenue, BigCommerce > Total Shipping Revenue for BigCommerce stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Metrics type:** [Supporting Metrics](/nerve-centre/overview#metrics-types-explained) • **Category:** [Ecommerce Platform](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) ## At a glance > Total customer-paid shipping revenue over the period. The dollar twin of [BC Shipping %](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/shipping-cost-as-of-revenue) and [BC Shipping Methods](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/shipping-methods). On BigCommerce specifically, this aggregates across **per-channel rate sets**: a SKU shipped on web, on Amazon Channel Manager, and on a B2B portal can have three different shipping rates, all summed here. The card answers "how much did customers pay us for shipping?", which is different from "how much did shipping cost us" (the carrier-invoice number). | | | | ------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **What it counts** | `SUM(shipping_cost_inc_tax)` over the period. The customer-billed shipping figure (inclusive of any tax on shipping where applicable). | | **VAT / tax treatment** | **Tax-inclusive** if the merchant configured shipping as taxable (typical for UK / EU). US stores' shipping tax-handling varies by state. | | **Shipping** | This card *is* the shipping revenue. | | **Discounts** | **Net of free-shipping promos and shipping-rate discounts.** A free-shipping coupon reduces this card by the customer-side shipping value. | | **Refunds** | Not deducted (gross). Refunded shipping is captured separately. | | **Cancelled orders** | Excluded. | | **`Incomplete` orders** | Excluded. | | **Currency** | Multi-currency without FX. | | **Channels / sources** | All channels aggregate. **Marketplace orders typically show \$0 shipping** because the marketplace (Amazon Prime, eBay) absorbs the shipping cost; the merchant doesn't see customer-paid shipping on these orders. **The card therefore predominantly reflects DTC web shipping**. | | **Per-channel rate set** | BC's per-channel shipping rate sets mean the same SKU has different rates on different channels. Aggregate across all channels in this card. | | **Handling fees** | Included if the merchant uses BC's `handling_cost` field. Some stores charge handling separately (e.g., \$2 handling); this card sums shipping + handling because customers don't distinguish. | | **B2B Edition behaviour** | B2B orders typically use palletised LTL freight, with high per-order shipping costs ($50-$300+). B2B share of this card is disproportionate to B2B order share. | | **Time window** | `30D` (rolling 30 days). | | **Alert trigger** | None directly; alerts on the rate version live on [BC Shipping %](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/shipping-cost-as-of-revenue). | | **Roles** | owner, operations | ## Calculation ``` SUM(shippingCostIncTax) WHERE date BETWEEN [period_start, period_end] ``` ## Worked example A US apparel brand on BigCommerce, 30-day window. Multi-channel. | Channel | Orders | Shipping revenue (\$) | Avg shipping per order | | ---------------------- | --------- | --------------------- | ---------------------- | | Web (`channel_id = 1`) | 4,820 | \$14,800 | \$3.07 | | Amazon Channel Manager | 1,610 | \$0 | \$0 (Amazon-paid) | | B2B Edition | 88 | \$1,180 | \$13.41 | | POS | 410 | \$0 | \$0 (no shipping) | | **Total** | **6,928** | **\$15,980** | avg \$2.31 | Against \$223,000 total revenue: shipping % = 7.2%. What's interesting: 1. \*\*Web average shipping is $3.07/order** which is low for apparel. This means most orders qualify for free shipping; the merchant has a generous threshold (likely $50). **Free shipping is the customer experience win**, but the unit economics need monitoring: each free-ship-eligible order at low AOV may actually lose money on shipping cost vs revenue. 2. **Amazon at \$0 shipping revenue** because Amazon Prime customers don't see shipping line items. **Margin per Amazon order is invisible at this card's level**; the equivalent cost is the FBA fulfillment fee (10-15% of order value typically), which sits in [BC Channel Revenue Mix](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/revenue-mix-by-channel). 3. \*\*B2B avg $13.41/order** reflects palletised freight on bulk orders. **Per-pallet LTL shipping is structurally expensive but customers expect it**; B2B AOV ($600+ typical) absorbs the cost. 4. **Total $15,980 vs revenue $223,000 = 7.2% shipping %.** Sits in the healthy band for apparel (5-9%); not a concern. 5. **POS at \$0** because in-store transactions involve no shipping. Always structurally zero on this card. Action playbook this card surfaces: 1. **Monitor the dollar absolute and the rate jointly.** Absolute shipping rising with revenue rising is normal scaling; rate creeping up means carrier costs outpacing pricing. 2. **Renegotiate carrier rates annually.** UPS, FedEx, USPS all publish rate increases each year; without negotiation, your absolute shipping spend grows 4-6%/year. 3. **Audit free-ship-threshold sensitivity.** If 60%+ of orders qualify for free shipping, threshold may be too low. 4. **Use [BC Shipping Methods](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/shipping-methods)** to see which methods drive most shipping revenue; some methods may be over-priced (depressing conversion) or under-priced (eating margin). 5. **Pair with [BC Top Cities](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/top-cities-by-orders)** to see geographic distribution of shipping revenue; long-haul cities (Alaska, Hawaii, Pacific Coast for East-Coast warehouses) drive disproportionate shipping cost. ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together | Card | Why pair it with Total Shipping | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | [BC Shipping %](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/shipping-cost-as-of-revenue) | The ratio version. Absolute and rate together give full picture. | | [BC Shipping Methods](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/shipping-methods) | Composition by method. Which methods drive the absolute number. | | [BC Free vs Paid](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/free-vs-paid-shipping) | Boolean breakdown of paid vs free shipping. | | [Total Revenue](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/total-revenue) | Denominator. | | [BC Top Cities](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/top-cities-by-orders) | Geographic dimension. Long-haul cities = high shipping. | | [AOV](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/average-order-value) | Free-ship threshold sensitivity is AOV-driven. | | [BC Channel Revenue Mix](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/revenue-mix-by-channel) | Channel mix shifts (Amazon growth) reduce this card's growth. | | [Cancellation Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/cancellation-rate) | Sticker-shock at high shipping cost drives cancellations. | | [Refund Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/refund-rate) | Damaged-in-transit refunds correlate with shipping cost. | ## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard **Where to look in BigCommerce's own dashboard:** The native view is **BC Control Panel → Reports → Shipping Reports** (Plus and Enterprise) or the **Sales by Date** report exported to CSV (all tiers). Sum the shipping\_cost column for the comparable figure. For finance reconciliation, **Settings → Data Solutions → Export → Orders** with the shipping fields included is the working data. **Why our number may legitimately differ from the vendor's:** | Reason | Direction | Why | | ---------------------------- | ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Tax handling on shipping** | Either | Whether shipping is taxable affects whether `shipping_cost_inc_tax` matches `shipping_cost`. Configuration changes mid-period cause discrepancies. | | **Time zone** | Boundary days off | UTC vs store time zone. | | **Sync lag** | Trivial | Webhook fanout. | | **Refund treatment** | Either | We show gross; BC may show net. | | **Handling fees** | Either | We include `handling_cost`; BC report may show separately. | | **Currency** | Trivial | Per-currency aggregation. | **Cross-connector reconciliation (when both connectors are connected for this merchant):** This is BC-native; no direct cross-connector twin. Closest is the carrier invoice (UPS, FedEx) which shows merchant-side shipping cost (different number; this card is customer-side). ***
Documentation cross-reference (for agencies running multiple platforms) Total shipping exists across platforms with similar definitions. * [`shopify.total_shipping`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/shopify/total-shipping-revenue) * [`adobe_commerce.total_shipping`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/adobe-commerce/total-shipping-revenue)
## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **Why is my total shipping less than my carrier invoice?** Because this card is *customer-paid* shipping (revenue), not *merchant-paid* shipping (cost). Customers paid you $X for shipping; you paid the carrier $Y for shipping. The two numbers are unrelated; the difference is your shipping margin. **Should this be a profit centre or a cost recovery line?** Depends on strategy. Most apparel and small-goods merchants run shipping as cost-recovery (charge customer roughly what carrier charges them). Premium / luxury merchants often absorb shipping (free for all orders) as part of the experience. Mass-market merchants sometimes price shipping as a profit centre (charge \$5 above carrier cost). **Why is my Amazon channel showing \$0 shipping?** Amazon Prime / FBA orders don't show customer-paid shipping; Amazon absorbs the customer-side cost and charges the merchant a fulfilment fee separately. The shipping economics are inverted; you don't see them on this card. **My shipping revenue dropped 20% this month, what changed?** Likely a free-shipping promotion or threshold change. Cross-check Discount Over Time, Shipping Methods utilisation. A drop in absolute shipping with stable revenue means more orders qualified for free shipping. **Can I see shipping revenue per shipping method?** Yes via [BC Shipping Methods](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/shipping-methods) which is the breakdown by method. This card is the aggregate. **Why does my B2B show high shipping but my web shows low?** Structural difference: B2B uses LTL freight ($50-300/order); web uses parcel ($5-15/order). Same shipping field, different unit economics. **Should I worry if this number stays flat while orders grow?** Yes, slightly. Means shipping is becoming relatively cheaper to customers (often via free-ship-threshold). If you're not raising prices to absorb the discount, margin is being eaten. **Does this include international shipping?** Yes if your store ships internationally. International orders typically have higher per-order shipping cost; the contribution skews this card up. **My handling fees are showing in shipping; can I separate them?** By default no (we sum them because customers see them combined). Use Ask Viq to separate: "show shipping vs handling for last 30 days". **Why did my UPS Ground revenue rise but UPS rates didn't change?** Volume rose, or order weight rose (heavier items = higher shipping). Check [BC Top Products](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/top-products-by-revenue); if a heavier SKU jumped in popularity, that's the cause. **Can I use this for ship-cost forecasting?** Indirectly. You forecast revenue; multiply by historical shipping % to get expected shipping revenue. Use carrier-invoice / customer-paid ratio to estimate carrier cost. **Why does my POS show \$0?** POS orders involve no shipping (in-store transactions). Always structurally zero on this card. \*\*My free-shipping promo cost $4,200 in the period, but this card's number didn't drop, what?** Free-shipping promos reduce the shipping revenue you would have collected; they're a foregone-revenue concept. The $4,200 is what customers *would have paid*; if the promo also drove incremental orders, the absolute number can stay flat or even rise. Use [BC Discount Over Time](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/discounts-given-over-time) for the promotional cost view. **Can I see this card by destination region?** Yes via Ask Viq: "shipping revenue by state for last 30 days". Distance from your warehouse correlates with shipping cost; revenue distribution per region is informative for warehouse-location decisions. **Why is my shipping revenue lower than competitor benchmarks?** Three usual causes: (1) you offer more free shipping (lower threshold), (2) your AOV is higher (each order subsidises shipping more easily), (3) carrier rates are favourable (negotiated contracts). *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *Total Shipping Revenue* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across BigCommerce and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. [Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.