Why is my minimum spend for free shipping not functioning properly?

Technical Q&A

Topic summary

Issue: Free shipping is still offered below the set £80 minimum after discount codes are applied. Previously, eligibility was based on the final (discounted) order value; since last night, orders around £70–£80 still receive free next working day delivery. The poster also noticed the same behavior on other Shopify stores.

Current setup: Two price-based rates exist and have worked for 2+ years: £4.50 (for £0–£50,000) and Free £0.00 (for £80–£50,000). The free option no longer disappears when discounts drop the total below £80.

Suggestions offered:

  • Recreate flat shipping rates (flat rate = fixed fee) and/or delete and re-add the free rate. The poster indicates rates are already correctly configured and rejects removing free shipping.
  • Use a third-party app (ShipRight) to hide the free shipping method if the cart total is less than £80, implemented via a rule. An image shows the app rule setup.

Status: No confirmation of a Shopify platform change and no native fix identified. App-based workaround proposed; issue remains unresolved pending official clarification.

Summarized with AI on December 18. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Hi, Shopify is allowing free shipping for orders under my ‘minimum spend’. I’ve always had a minimum spend of £80 for free next working day delivery, which was based on the final order value, so if a customer had a basket of £86 and then used a discount code the final order value would now be £77.40 and would no longer be eligible for Free Shipping.

However, last night i noticed a lot of orders that had free shipping at ~£70 spend so I went on my site to see what was happening and the Free shipping option is not being removed when a discount code is applied. Has this been changed by Shopify or should this not be happening? I’ve been on a few other Shopify sites with a Free shipping option to see if they had the same ‘issue’ and they did.

Thanks

2

Hello @supplementmad

Sorry for all the frustration you might encounter with your Shopify store.

I will advise you to create a flat shipping rate for your product below £70.

Flat shipping rates charge a specific amount for shipping at checkout. You can create flat shipping rates for any order within a shipping zone, or only for orders whose weight or price is within a certain range. For example, in a shipping zone for Europe, you could set a flat rate of £5, and another flat rate of £15 for orders that are over £70. And if the buyer uses the coupon code to order the product you can also cancel the flat shipping rate since he/she is already offered a discount.

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery

  2. Next to the shipping profile that you want to add a shipping rate to, click Manage.

  3. Next to the zone that you want to add a rate to, click Add rate.

  4. Enter the name and amount for the rate.

  5. Optional: Add weight-based or price-based conditions.

    1. Click Add conditions.
    2. Select whether to base the condition on order weight or price.
    3. Enter the minimum and maximum values for the condition.

  6. Click Done, and then click Save.

If the suggestion is welcomed don’t forget to hit the LIKE button and mark it as a SOLUTION.

IF YOU HAVE OTHER COMPLAINTS DON’T HESITATE TO KEEP US AT INFORMED.

Thanks

3

Hi, thanks for your reply. Unfortunately the shipping options are already set up correctly and have worked as intended for the last 2+ years, until last night. I have ‘Next Working Day Delivery - £4.50 (£0.00 - £50,000)’ and 'Free Next Working Day Delivery - £0.00 (£80 - £50,000)

Previously, the ‘Free’ option would disappear if the customer had a basket over £80 and applied a discount code and reduced the final order value below £80.

This is now not happening and customers are being honoured Free Shipping at ~£72-£80

Thanks

4

Thanks, it happened like that sometimes,

I will suggest that you can deactivate the free shipping rate and add a new flat shipping rate.

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery

  2. Next to the shipping profile that you want to delete a rate in, click Manage.

  3. Next to the rate that you want to delete, click the … button.

  4. In the drop-down menu, click Delete.

  5. Click Save.

Thanks

5

So the solution is to no longer offer free shipping at all? Thanks for the replies but that’s not what i’m looking for.

6

Yes it is possible to determine minimum spent for free shipping using ShipRight app. For this you have to do this:

  1. Open the app and click on the “Add a new rule” button.
  2. Click “Add a new condition” and select the “Cart total” option.
  3. Select “Hide if less than” and add the “80” in the “Cart total” field.
  4. Add your free shipping rate name in the “Additional shipping methods” field.
  5. Save the rule.

qualify.png
qualify.png545×624 31.5 KB

Now free shipping will be only visible if the order amount exceeds £80.