When a shopper in another country says your free shipping threshold didn't apply, check three things before replying on WhatsApp: which Shopify rule creates the free delivery, which currency the threshold was set in, and what the cart contains after discounts. A free shipping discount minimum is set in your default currency and converted at checkout, so a round “$60” in your campaign isn't a round number in Canadian dollars.
A customer in Toronto taps a message that promises free delivery over $60. Checkout still shows a delivery charge. Telling her to “add a little more” without checking the rule is how you lose the order and her trust.
Where does your free shipping actually come from?
There are three common sources, and they behave differently.
Source
Where the threshold lives
Currency behaviour (per Shopify docs)
Free shipping discount (code or automatic)
Discounts, minimum purchase amount
Set in default currency, converted at checkout
Order-amount shipping rate
Shipping zone, price tier with a free rate
Rates display in local currency; Shopify suggests separate zones for fixed regional amounts
Depends on the app; some have per-market thresholds
From Shopify's free shipping discount page: the minimum counts product prices only (no tax), and products count at their discounted price only when the other discount can combine with free shipping. You can limit it to selected countries or markets.
From the shipping rates setup page: order-amount rates use tiers, and free shipping only applies when the order falls inside a tier that covers it. Rates display in the customer's local currency once local currencies are active, and if you want fixed amounts per region, Shopify suggests separate shipping zones. The page doesn't say how tier thresholds themselves are converted, so test a real cart in each market.
Write down which source runs your offer. If two are active (an app progress bar and a Shopify discount), they can disagree, and that's often the whole bug.
A worked example: one offer, three markets
Say your store's default currency is USD and you run a free shipping discount with a $60 minimum. You also send a welcome code, SAVE15, for 15% off, set to combine with shipping discounts.
The exchange rates below are made up for the example. Check the real conversion at checkout.
Market
Cart
After SAVE15
Threshold at checkout
Free shipping?
United States
$68
$57.80
$60
No
Canada
CA$95
CA$80.75
about CA$83
No
UK
£50
£42.50
about £47
No
Every one of those shoppers “spent over $60” in their head. None qualifies, because the minimum is measured after the combinable 15% discount. That's the reply your team needs to be able to give in one message.
If SAVE15 weren't set to combine with shipping discounts, the two couldn't apply together at all. Shopify's combination rules also allow only one shipping discount per order.
How to test the threshold before a WhatsApp campaign
Build one cart just below the threshold and one just above, in each market you'll message.
Enter a real postcode for that market so shipping rates calculate.
Apply the code from your WhatsApp message. Recheck both carts.
Note which shipping options become free. Shopify lets you exclude rates above a set amount, so express may stay paid.
On tiered rates, try a very large cart. If the top tier has a maximum, orders above it get no rate at all.
Save one example cart per market in a short internal note.
Then write the campaign copy so it can't be misread: state the currency, and say whether the minimum is before or after discounts.
Free delivery on orders over $60 USD (about CA$83 or £47 at today's rate), after discounts. Express shipping not included.
What to reply on WhatsApp
Start by getting just what you need. You don't need the full address or a screenshot containing payment details.
I'll check that for you. Which country and postcode are you shipping to, and which code did you use?
Once you've checked:
Thanks. Free delivery kicks in at CA$83 after your 15% code. Your cart is CA$80.75 after the discount, so you're CA$2.25 short. Anything from the accessories page gets you there, or I can suggest something.
If the shopper is right and the offer is broken:
You're right, that cart should qualify. We've got a setting wrong on our side. I'm fixing it now and will message you within the hour so you can check out with free delivery.
Save these as canned responses in the WhatFlow team inbox with blanks for the amounts, and label threshold chats so you can count them per campaign.
A shared shipping-offer label helps the team spot repeated questions from the same promotion.
Because the shopper messaged first, agents reply inside the 24-hour customer service window and can use free-form messages. Note that as of November 2026 Meta charges for service messages beyond the first 1,000 per number per month, so a confusing campaign has a small real cost on top of the lost orders. The pricing page has the country rate table.
Mistakes I see with free shipping offers on WhatsApp
Writing “$60” with no currency in a campaign that goes to five countries.
Running a cart app progress bar and a Shopify discount with different thresholds, so the bar says “You get free shipping!” and checkout disagrees.
Forgetting that a combinable discount lowers the cart below the minimum.
Promising free “delivery” when only standard shipping is free and the shopper picked express.
Leaving a tiered rate with a maximum on the top tier, so a big order gets no rate at all.
Letting an agent override the threshold in chat without a way to actually apply it at checkout.
Each of these turns into the same WhatsApp chat, and each is fixed in settings, not in the reply.
Run WhatsApp for your Shopify store with WhatFlow
Free plan available. Templates, COD confirmation, Shopify Flow automations and a shared team inbox with no seat fees. Every feature is included on every plan, including Free.
Update the cart, the campaign and the inbox together
Put the verified terms on the offer page, in the cart and in the saved WhatsApp reply. When the threshold or the welcome code changes, retest those example carts before approving the next message. The WhatFlow broadcast guide covers sending a test and reviewing the campaign afterwards. If the offer depends on a cart drawer progress bar, also run the cart drawer link test. And if you're building a multilingual send for several markets, template languages for order updates explains keeping language versions of the same message.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Shopify free shipping discount minimum converted to local currency?
Yes. Shopify's Markets documentation says a free shipping discount minimum is set in your store's default currency and converted to the customer's local currency at checkout, so the customer must reach the equivalent amount at the current rate.
Do shipping and taxes count toward a Shopify free shipping minimum?
No. Shopify says the minimum purchase amount for a free shipping discount counts product prices only. Products count at their discounted price only when the other discount can combine with free shipping.
Can I set a different free shipping threshold for each country?
You can limit a free shipping discount to specific countries or markets and create separate ones per market. With order-amount shipping rates, Shopify suggests separate shipping zones when you want fixed amounts per region.
Why does checkout fail for large orders with tiered shipping rates?
If an order total is above the maximum of your highest tier, no rate applies. Shopify recommends leaving the Maximum field empty on the top tier so it covers larger orders.
Handle a Partial Shopify Bundle Return Over WhatsApp
A customer wants to return one item from a set. Check the bundle type, the discounted order lines and your policy before you quote a refund on WhatsApp.
