UK merchants are requesting the ability to set separate shipping rates for Scotland’s Highlands and Islands, where delivery costs are significantly higher than mainland Scotland. Currently, Shopify’s platform allows zone separation for territories like Isle of Man and Guernsey, but not for specific Scottish regions or UK islands like Isle of Wight.
Key Issues:
Merchants report losing money on orders to these areas (one user cited shipping costs 10x higher than expected)
The only workaround suggested by Shopify support is increasing rates for all of Scotland, which would overcharge customers in major cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh
Example cost disparity: ÂŁ6.75 to Glasgow vs ÂŁ23.75 to Highlands for identical parcels
Current Status:
Shopify acknowledged the issue over a year ago and passed feedback to their development team
No timeline or concrete solution has been provided
Merchants express frustration that third-party apps (which charge monthly fees) are the only current solution for what they consider basic e-commerce functionality
Merchant Request:
Ability to exclude specific postcodes or create granular shipping zones for UK regions—functionality they note exists on competing platforms and older bespoke websites.
Summarized with AI on October 24.
AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
We ship all over the UK and Shopify allows us to separate our shipping zones for places like Isle of Man, Guernsey, etc. enabling us to charge more for shipping to these locations. However, it is also more expensive to ship to the Highlands & Islands in Scotland and there is no provision for adding these additional costs to these orders. I have searched the discussions online and it appears that this has been a problem for some time and I have attached the link to a similar discussion https://community.shopify.com/c/shopify-design/uk-shipping-zones/td-p/766959. But, there is still no solution. I really don’t want to pay for an app to enable me to ship to this part of Scotland. I would be interested to know if a solution is available within the Shopify platform. Thanks.
Thank you for your post. This is something I have spoken to numerous merchants who ship within the UK about and I know it’s a pain point for those who have customers throughout Scotland. It is not possible at this time to differentiate the Highlands & Islands and the rest of Scotland within your shipping zones, but I will be sure to pass on your feedback to our development team who focus on developing our shipping platform over time.
Thank you for taking the time to add your name to this feature request; I will be sure to pass your comment on as well. I can’t promise anything or provide any sort of timeline on when this change may be made, but I do know that our shipping team is aware of this pain point for merchants who ship within the UK and to all areas of Scotland in particular. Merchant feedback plays a significant role in how we decide to evolve our platform over time so your request is appreciated.
I agree we need this desperately too, I have complelety developed a new site on Shopify thinking there would be an obvious way to set up shipping even with an app but there is not?? All our other sites are on Magento and I thought I had found the perfect replacement in Shopify however this is a game changer. Its impossible to ship large bulking items to the highlands of Scotland for the same price as mainland UK. So I think for now we are back to Magento.
We also support this. The difference between shipping an item somewhere on the mainland and shipping to Highlands and islands can be as much as £20 - that’s a lot of profit on a small priced item. Come on Shopify - time to assist your UK members please!
This week we have set Scotland as a different zone meaning anyone buying from Scotland will get an additional charge - which sucks for anybody south of Aberdeen! Please sort this out ASAP Shopify, it’s unfair on everybody.
Is there any update on this issue? Our business has just opened a Shopify store and we would like to add our names to this feature request. This is a vital feature for UK sellers and we would appreciate it being implemented urgently. We were shocked to discover that there was no way to separate Isle of Wight and Scottish Highlands & Islands out from our standard zones as our shipping costs to these locations are significantly more expensive than shipping to the rest of England & Scotland and it is not feasible for us to offer the same shipping rates to customers of ours located in these areas.
Any updated on this yet? It’s been awfully quiet from the Shopify team regarding this. This is a serious requirement rather than just feedback. All UK users will need this to happen rather than having to pay for external apps.
