To make only your standard Royal Mail service free, use a shipping discount that targets the rate by name: choose Choose specific rates, type the service name, such as Tracked 48, add it as a wildcard match and set it to Free. Shopify’s own free shipping discount makes every eligible rate free, Special Delivery included. Its only rate control is “Exclude shipping rates over a certain amount”, which filters by the rate’s price, not by service. Shopify notes that this setting is unrelated to order amounts. RM: Advanced Free Shipping discounts any rate Shopify shows at checkout, including live Royal Mail rates from third-party carrier-calculated shipping, so your standard service is free and the faster ones keep their price. It costs $9.90 USD every 30 days, with a 7-day free trial, billed by Shopify.

What the customer gets

In this example, a UK store sells in GBP, and Royal Mail Tracked 48 is free over £50. The rate names and prices are illustrative. Your checkout may show different Royal Mail service names, and live rates change with the parcel.

  • A £60 cart: the rates are Royal Mail Tracked 48 £3.95, Royal Mail Tracked 24 £5.25 and Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed £9.95. Tracked 48 drops from £3.95 to £0. The other two stay full price. The customer pays £60 with Tracked 48, or £60 + £5.25 = £65.25 with Tracked 24.
  • A £40 cart with the same rates: it’s under £50, so nothing changes. The customer pays £40 + £3.95 = £43.95 with Tracked 48.
  • A heavier £85 cart: Tracked 48 is £6.80, Tracked 24 is £8.10 and Special Delivery is £14.50. Tracked 48 drops to £0. The customer pays £85 with Tracked 48, or £85 + £8.10 = £93.10 with Tracked 24.

The heavier cart’s Tracked 48 costs more than the first cart’s Tracked 24. A price filter such as “exclude rates over £6” would leave that Tracked 48 rate full price and make the lighter cart’s Tracked 24 free. Matching by name keeps your standard service free at any price.

Example checkout for a £60 cart: Royal Mail Tracked 48 drops from £3.95 to FREE, labeled Free Tracked 48 over £50, while Tracked 24 stays £5.25 and Special Delivery Guaranteed £9.95. Total GBP £60.00

Set it up

  1. In the app, click Create Shipping Discount. Under Discount method, choose Automatic discount, and enter a Title such as “Free Tracked 48 over £50”.
  2. In Conditions, click Add condition. Keep Cart total, set Is at least and enter 50. Amounts are in your store’s currency, GBP here.
  3. In Discount setup, set Delivery type to Shipping and Which rates to Choose specific rates.
  4. In the rate search, type Tracked 48 and choose Add “Tracked 48” (wildcard match).
  5. Set Discount value to Free.
  6. Click Create discount.

Discount setup with Delivery type Shipping, Which rates set to Choose specific rates, a Standard rate added, and Discount value Free

The screenshot shows a rate called Standard. For this offer, add Tracked 48 as a wildcard instead.

Pick the right keyword

A wildcard matches any rate whose name contains your text, ignoring upper and lower case. Run a test checkout first and copy the exact service name you see. Then choose a keyword that matches only that service:

  • Tracked 48 matches only that service.
  • Tracked also matches Tracked 24.
  • Royal Mail matches every Royal Mail service, Special Delivery included.

If your checkout shows a service such as “2nd Class” instead, type that.

Variations

  • Free Tracked 48 and £2 off Tracked 24: open the ⋯ menu on Discount setup, choose Add delivery discount, add a Tracked 24 wildcard and set Fixed Amount Off 2. On the £60 cart, Tracked 24 drops from £5.25 to £3.25.
  • Special Delivery for £7: choose Add delivery discount again, add a Special Delivery wildcard and set Fixed Price 7. On the £60 cart it drops from £9.95 to £7.00, and on the £85 cart from £14.50 to £7.00.
  • Free on two standard services: add both keywords, such as Tracked 48 and 2nd Class, in step 4. Each one becomes free.
  • Free within the UK only: add Shipping country Is one of United Kingdom in the same rule group, so international orders pay full price.

Good to know

  • To fix a rate that isn’t discounted, check its name at checkout and use a wildcard keyword. A picked name that differs from the checkout name won’t match.
  • To match UK postcodes, use wildcards, such as SW1*. Postcode ranges work only for numeric codes. See free shipping by ZIP code or postcode.
  • Customers paying in another currency are covered. The £50 threshold converts at Shopify’s exchange rate. See a free shipping threshold in each currency.
  • The app’s price is in USD. Shopify bills $9.90 USD every 30 days, whatever your store’s currency.
  • To test it, turn on Test mode and check out with the shipping first name ABC123. Try carts at £49 and £50.

Install RM: Advanced Free Shipping from the Shopify App Store.