When running an online store on Shopify, lowering the barriers to purchase is essential if you want more customers to try your products. One especially effective way to help new customers order with confidence is a "free shipping on first order" campaign.
This article explains how to set up a free-shipping-on-first-order discount using the Shopify app RuffRuff Order Bonus.
What is RuffRuff Order Bonus?
RuffRuff Order Bonus is a Shopify app that lets you run a wide variety of shipping discount campaigns based on any condition you choose.
For example, you can run discounts such as:
- Free shipping for VIP members
- Free shipping for a limited time
- Free shipping on purchases of ¥10,000 or more
- Half-price shipping for 5+ items, free shipping for 10+ items
and more
Many other shipping discount strategies are also possible. For details, please check the service page.
Outcome
By following the setup in this article, orders will be treated as follows depending on order count:
- First order: Free shipping
- Second and subsequent orders: No discount
ℹ️ Here, "first order" refers to the first order placed after you start using the setup described in this article (i.e., an order from a customer who has never had the free shipping campaign applied before). If you want to strictly limit the discount to a customer's very first order ever, please refer to the [Bonus section: How to strictly limit the discount to a customer's very first order] chapter.
Setup Instructions
This section explains how to make shipping free only on a customer's first order using the Shopify app RuffRuff Order Bonus.
Prerequisite: Set Up the App
If you have already installed and set up RuffRuff Order Bonus, please proceed to Step 1 below.
Enable the App Embed
(1) Click "Enable app embed in your live theme" from the Setup guide on the app's top page.
(2) Select the Shopify theme you want to add the app to from the dropdown
(3) Click "Enable app"
(4) Enable "RuffRuff Order Bonus" on the left side of the theme editor
(5) Click "Save" in the top right of the screen
Step 1: Create a Campaign for Free Shipping on the First Order Only
(1) Select "Discounts" from the left menu of the app.
(2) Click "Create campaign"
(3) Enter any name you like in Campaign name
(4) Set the period you want to run the campaign in Active dates
(5) Do not add any Eligibility conditions
(6) Configure the following in the discount settings:
- Select Shipping discount
- Select "Percentage"
- Enter "100"
(7) Under Combinations of discounts, leave all checkboxes unchecked
(8) Click "Save"
Step 2: Activate the Campaign
(1) Open the campaign you created in Step 1
(2) Click "Activate"
Testing the Campaign
(1) Add a product to the cart and go to the checkout page
(2) Confirm the free shipping discount is applied
(3) Place a test order
(3) Add a product to the cart again and go to the checkout page
(4) Enter the customer information using the email address from the test order you just placed
(5) Confirm the discount is not applied
Bonus Section: How to Strictly Limit the Discount to a Customer's Very First Order
The method introduced in the previous section applies the free shipping discount to a customer's first order after you start the free-shipping-on-first-order campaign, regardless of how many orders they placed before that.
If you want to apply the free shipping discount strictly only to a customer's very first order ever, add a "Customer total order count is 0" condition under the campaign's Eligibility conditions.
Please note that the "Customer total order count is 0" condition is met not only by members who have no past order history, but also by guests who are not logged in (since guests have no customer record, their order count is always treated as 0). If you want to reliably exclude guest customers, add a "Customer login status: Logged in" condition in addition to the "Customer total order count is 0" condition.
With this setup, the behavior will be as follows:
- Guest customers: No discount (excluded by the login status condition)
- Members with no past purchase history: Free shipping
- Members with past purchase history: No discount
This lets you clearly distinguish between the method in the previous section (which also applies to guest customers) and the method in this section (which applies only to members, and only on their very first order).
Reasons the Discount May Not Apply, and How to Fix Them
The Campaign Update Hasn't Taken Effect Yet
After you update a campaign, it may take some time for the changes to be reflected on your online store. If this is the cause, please wait a while and check again.
The Cart Page Was Not Visited
Campaigns require the customer to pass through the cart page in order to be applied. For example, if you're running a free shipping campaign for members, logging in from the checkout page returns the customer directly to the checkout page without passing through the cart page again, so the campaign may not be applied in that case.
If this is the cause, consider measures such as instructing customers to return to the cart page, or requiring customers to log in before proceeding to checkout.
In Closing
This article introduced how to apply free shipping only to a customer's first purchase on Shopify. Setting up a free-shipping-on-first-order campaign correctly can help you acquire new customers and increase sales. When configuring it, be sure to carefully review the conditions and precautions, and stay up to date with the latest Shopify specifications and the rules of the apps you use. We hope this serves as a useful strategy for growing your store and improving the customer experience going forward.
Finally, the blog article below introduces representative discount strategies you can implement on Shopify. Find the strategy that's the perfect fit for your store and give your sales a boost.
