Free shipping bar in PrestaShop: how to show the right amount and raise the cart value

"Only €12.40 left to free shipping" is one of the simplest ways to make a cart a little bigger. A shopper who is close to the line will often add one more product rather than pay for delivery. But the message only works if the number is right. A bar that promises free shipping and then charges for it at checkout does more harm than no bar at all.

This guide explains where PrestaShop keeps its free shipping rules, why so many bars show the wrong amount, and how to choose a threshold that actually raises the cart value.

Where free shipping comes from in PrestaShop#

PrestaShop can give free shipping in three different places, and a store often uses more than one of them.

• The store-wide amount. Under Shipping > Preferences, the Free shipping starts at field gives free delivery for every carrier once the order reaches an amount. There is a matching field for weight.
• The carrier's own ranges. Each carrier is billed by total price or by weight, with a price for each range and each zone. If a range above a certain amount costs 0, that carrier is free from there, but only for that carrier and only in those zones.
• Cart rules. Under Catalog > Discounts, a cart rule with the Free shipping action and a Minimum amount condition gives free delivery above that amount. Cart rules can also be limited to certain countries, carriers, customer groups or dates.

So "free shipping above €60" may be true for one carrier in your own country, false for another carrier, and different again during a promotion.

Why bars show the wrong amount#

Most free shipping bars ask you to type one amount in their settings. That is where the problems start.

• The amount drifts. You change the carrier ranges or run a promotion, and the number in the bar module stays as it was.
• One number for every zone. If free shipping starts at €60 at home and €120 abroad, a single number is wrong for half of your customers.
• The carrier is ignored. The bar says free shipping is unlocked, but the customer picks a carrier that is not free at that amount.
• Tax and currency. Cart rules can count the minimum with or without tax, and with or without shipping. In a multi-currency store, an amount typed in euros has to be converted for a visitor paying in another currency.

Each of these shows the customer a promise that checkout does not keep. A customer who sees "Free shipping unlocked" and then a delivery fee does not think "configuration error". They think the store is not honest.

How to set it up correctly#

1. Pick one source of truth. Decide whether free shipping is defined store-wide, per carrier or with cart rules, and avoid mixing them without a reason. If you use carrier ranges, check every zone.
2. Check the numbers in a real cart. Add products just below and just above the threshold, for each carrier and for at least one foreign address. Note what checkout really charges.
3. Make the bar read the same rules. Either keep the bar's amount equal to your real threshold and update it with every change, or use a bar that reads the threshold from PrestaShop itself.
4. Test again after every promotion. A cart rule with free shipping changes the threshold for as long as it is active.

Choosing the threshold#

The threshold is a pricing decision, not only a design one. A common starting point is a little above your current average order value. If the average cart is €48, free shipping from €60 asks for one more small product, which is realistic. A threshold far above the average is ignored, and one below it gives away delivery that customers would have paid for anyway.

Look at the result after a few weeks: the average order value, the share of orders above the threshold and your delivery costs. If almost every order crosses the line, it may be too low. If almost none do, it is too high.

Help shoppers close the gap#

The bar tells shoppers how much is missing. The next step is to show them what to add. Small, popular products priced around the typical gap (socks, candles, care products, accessories) work better than a random "you may also like" list. Show them when the cart is close to the threshold, not on every page, and let shoppers add them without leaving the cart.

Where to show the bar#

• Cart and checkout: the most important places, because the shopper is looking at the total.
• After adding to cart: the moment a product is added is a natural time to show what is left.
• Product page: helpful, but keep it small so it does not compete with the price and the buy button.
• Fixed to the screen: useful on long pages, but on phones keep it small and easy to close.

What we are building#

PrestaShop has no free shipping bar of its own, so stores use a module. We are developing one that reads the real threshold from your carriers, zones, the store-wide amount and cart rules, converts it into the visitor's currency and suggests products when the cart is close. It is not released yet. If you want to hear when it is, leave your email on the Free Shipping Bar page.

If your free shipping rules already need sorting out, or the cart behaves differently from what the store promises, our store health check finds such problems and shows what each fix would cost.