To make the whole order ship free when a certain product is in the cart, add the condition Product in cart Contains and select the product, then set the rates to Free. Everything else in the cart ships free too, because shipping is charged per rate, not per item. Shopify’s own free shipping discount has no product conditions, and a separate shipping profile with a free rate still charges shipping for the other items in a mixed cart. RM: Advanced Free Shipping checks the cart at checkout and discounts the whole rate when the product is there. It costs $9.90 USD every 30 days, with a 7-day free trial, billed by Shopify.

What the customer gets

In this example, buying the Coffee Starter Kit ($59) makes the whole order ship free. The rates are Standard $8.90 and Express $24.90.

  • The kit and an $18 bag of beans ($77): the cart contains the kit, so it qualifies. Standard and Express are both free. The customer pays $77.
  • The kit on its own ($59): it qualifies. The customer pays $59.
  • The beans on their own ($18): no kit, so nothing changes. With Standard, the customer pays $18 + $8.90 = $26.90.

This makes a hero product work harder: customers add other items to the order, knowing the shipping is already covered.

Set it up

  1. In the app, click Create Shipping Discount.
  2. Under Discount method, choose Automatic discount. New discounts start on Discount code, and the method can’t be changed later. Enter a Title such as “Free shipping with the Starter Kit”. Customers see it at checkout.
  3. In Conditions, click Add condition. Change Cart total to Product in cart.
  4. Keep the operator on Contains. Search for the product, or click Browse to open Shopify’s product picker, and select it.
  5. In Discount setup, set Delivery type to Shipping, Which rates to All shipping rates and Discount value to Free.
  6. Click Create discount.

To let several products unlock free shipping, select them all in the same condition. Any one of them qualifies the cart.

A Product in cart condition with its operator menu open, showing Contains, Does not contain, Contains (all) and Contains (any / strict mode), above a Cart total condition

Which operator to use

  • Contains: at least one selected product is in the cart, and other items are fine. This is the one for “buy this and the whole order ships free”.
  • Contains (all): every selected product is in the cart. Use it when the reward needs a pair, such as the kit and a grinder together.
  • Contains (any / strict mode): at least one selected product, and nothing else in the cart.
  • Does not contain: none of the selected products are in the cart.

Variations

  • Only one variant unlocks it: use Variant selector and pick the variant, such as only the 1 kg size.
  • A whole range unlocks it: put the products in a collection and use Product collection Contains (any). See free shipping on a collection.
  • The product plus a cart value: add Cart total Is at least 100 in the same rule group. The kit and $18 of beans ($77) then pays $77 + $8.90 = $85.90 with Standard.
  • The product, or any cart over $100: open the ⋯ menu on Conditions, choose Add rule group, and add Cart total Is at least 100. Either way qualifies.
  • Free Standard only: set Which rates to Choose specific rates and select Standard. Express stays $24.90.
  • $5 shipping instead of free: set Discount value to Fixed Price and enter 5. Standard becomes $5.

Good to know

  • To target more than 150 products, put them in a collection and use a collection condition. Product in cart holds up to 150 products.
  • To target a product tag, create a smart collection based on the tag, then use Product collection.
  • To target a Shopify bundle, select the bundle product itself, not the products inside it.
  • To keep free shipping when a sale code is used, tick Shipping discounts under Combinations on that code in Shopify admin. See Shopify’s guide to combining discounts.
  • To test it, turn on Test mode and check out with the shipping first name ABC123, once with the product and once without.

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