How To Add A Shipping Option To A Market In Shopify

How To Add A Shipping Option To A Market In Shopify

To add a shipping option in Shopify, open Markets, click your market, click Shipping, then Add shipping option. Name the option, choose a type of Flat, Carrier or app calculated, Order amount or Package weight, set the price, and save. Customers see the name, price and transit time at checkout, so choose names they already recognize.

What A Shipping Option Is

A shipping option is a delivery choice a customer selects at checkout, such as Standard or Express. Each option holds one or more rates, and those rates can vary by product and by location.

The new system replaces the old shipping rate. Where you once added several rates to a zone, you now add shipping options to a market. This is how a typical market looks once Standard and Express are set up.

The Shipping dropdown on a market page showing Standard at 8 dollars with free shipping over 70 dollars and Express at 15 dollars, each with transit times

In this example, Standard costs $8.00 and becomes free at $70.00 and up, with a transit time of 3 to 5 business days. Express costs $15.00 with a transit time of 1 to 2 business days. Both apply to all products and ship from the shop location. These numbers are an example only. Research your own carrier costs before you copy anyone's prices.

Before You Start

You need three things in place.

  1. A market that includes the region you ship to. See the guide on setting up a market.
  2. At least one location that fulfills online orders.
  3. Your Markets permission, if you are a staff member rather than the owner.

You do not need your products in place yet. Applies to starts on All products, so you can build a first option now and add product specific options later, once your products and collections exist.

If your market shows Shipping as Not shipping, click Customize first, as shown in the guide on setting up a market.

The Add Shipping Option Screen

The Add shipping option screen showing Option name, Active, Type Flat and Delivery details, then the Rate section with Price, Transit time and Applies to

The screen reads from top to bottom like this.

  • Option name. What the customer sees at checkout.
  • Active. A dropdown that lets you pause the option without deleting it.
  • Type. Flat is the default. The other choices are Carrier or app calculated, Order amount and Package weight.
  • Delivery details. A button that adds a description to the option. This adds information to your Checkout page. See following images.

The Add shipping option screen with the Delivery details button that adds a description to the option

The Delivery details description box that shows customers extra information about the option at checkout

  • Rate. Price, Transit time and Applies to. Applies to starts on All products.
  • + Rate. Adds another rate to the same option.
  • Offer free shipping. A toggle with a Minimum order amount field. The free shipping guide covers it.

The Type dropdown open with Flat, Carrier or app calculated, Order amount and Package weight

How To Add A Flat Rate Shipping Option

  1. Click Markets in your admin, then click your market.
  2. Under Shipping, click Add shipping option. If Shipping shows Not shipping, click Customize first.
  3. Type an Option name, for example, Standard.
  4. Leave Type on Flat.
  5. Type the Price.
  6. Open the Transit time dropdown and choose the delivery time. The transit time choices in the dropdown are 1 - 2 days, 3 - 5 days, or 5 - 8 days, or custom time - minimum and maximum time.
  7. Leave Applies to on All products for your first option.
  8. Click + Rate if this option needs a second rate.
  9. Save your changes.

How To Add An Order Amount Option

Choose Order amount in the Type dropdown. The Rate section changes so each row has four fields: Minimum, Maximum, Price and Transit time.

The Rate section for an order amount option with Minimum 0.00, Maximum No limit, Price, Transit time and a plus Order amount range button

  1. Follow steps 1 to 3 above, then choose Order amount as the Type.
  2. Leave the first Minimum at 0.00.
  3. Enter the Maximum for that range, or leave it as No limit if it is your only range.
  4. Enter the Price and choose a Transit time.
  5. Click + Order amount range to add the next range. Its Minimum should start where the last Maximum ended.
  6. Leave the Maximum on your highest range as No limit.

If your top range has a maximum, an order above it gets no rate and the customer sees a shipping error.

How To Add A Package Weight Option

Choose Package weight in the Type dropdown. It follows the same idea, with ranges based on the weight of the parcel instead of the order total. A package weight option has one rate. Shopify adds the weight of your package to the product weight, so the box alone can push a parcel into the next weight range.

Weight is usually more accurate than order amount, because it reflects what the parcel actually costs to ship. Order amount can mislead you if your products differ in weight, and it is calculated on the discounted total, so a discount code can drop an order into a lower range.

Package weight depends on your packages and product weights, so set those up too. You can also assign a package to each product on its product page. See the guide on packages, labels and carrier accounts.

The Highest Rate Rule

This is the biggest behavior change, so read it twice. When more than one rate inside a single shipping option applies to a cart, only the single highest matching rate applies at checkout. The rates are not added together.

Shopify has said that rates across separate shipping options are still added together, so a cart with items covered by two different options can still produce a combined charge. Test with a mixed cart, one product from each group, and look at what the customer would pay.

Choose Names And Transit Times Customers Trust

The name is the first thing the customer reads before they pay. Use a name tied to a delivery speed they understand, such as Standard or Express, and add transit time under delivery details. Do not hide information. A customer who sees "3 to 5 business days" is far less likely to email you asking where the parcel is.

How To Edit Or Switch Off A Shipping Option

  1. Open Markets, click your market, then click Shipping.
  2. Find the option and click More actions.
  3. Choose Edit, Set as inactive or Delete.

Set as inactive is the safer choice when you only want to pause an option, because you keep the settings.

Check Your Work With A Test Order

Add a product to your cart, enter an address inside the market, and look at the shipping step at checkout. Check the name, the price, the transit time and the free shipping threshold. Then do it again with an address in a different region.

Key Takeaways

  • Add options under Markets, then your market, then Shipping, then Add shipping option
  • Types are Flat, Carrier or app-calculated; order amount and Package weight
  • Start the first range at 0 and leave the highest maximum as No limit
  • Inside one option, only the highest matching rate applies
  • Always place a test order after changing shipping

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I add shipping rates in Shopify Markets?

Open Markets, click the market, click Shipping, then Add shipping option. Enter an option name, choose a type, set the price and transit time, then save.

Why does my customer see a shipping error at checkout?

Usually a range gap. If you use order amount or package weight rates, start at 0 and leave the maximum as No limit on your highest range, or orders outside every range get no rate.

Can I show different shipping rates for different products?

Yes. Use Applies to inside the rate and choose specific products or collections, after they exist in your store. Products covered by that rate get it.

Are weight based rates better than order amount rates?

Weight is generally more accurate because it follows real shipping cost. Order amount is simpler, but it can lose you money when your products have very different weights.

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