Why flat rate shipping matters
Predictability sells: shoppers know the cost before checkout, and the number is easy to remember and advertise. The store absorbs the variance, winning on light orders’ goodwill what heavy orders cost.
Making flat rates work
- Set the rate from average real shipping cost, not hope
- Per-zone flat rates where geography splits costs sharply
- Watch the tails: heavy or oversized items may need exceptions
- Pair with a free-shipping threshold to lift order values
Questions
Flat rate or carrier-calculated: which converts better?
Flat rates remove surprise, which usually helps, as long as the number feels fair. Carrier-calculated wins when catalogs mix tiny and huge items and one flat number would be wrong for both.
What if flat rate loses money on some orders?
It’s supposed to, occasionally: the rate is set to profit on the mix, not every order. If the mix drifts heavy, adjust the rate or carve out the outliers.