Blended Rates
When a customer’s cart contains products from different product groups, each group may have its own shipping methods with different prices. Blended rates combine these into a single shipping option at checkout.
The problem blended rates solve
Section titled “The problem blended rates solve”Without blended rates, a customer ordering from two product groups would see separate shipping options for each group — confusing and unhelpful.
Example without blended rates:
- “Standard Shipping (Default group)” — $5.00
- “Standard Shipping (Heavy Items)” — $15.00
With a blended rate:
- “Combined Shipping” — $20.00 (or $15.00, or the lowest, depending on your preference)
How blended rates work
Section titled “How blended rates work”A blended rate:
- Belongs to a zone (like a regular shipping method).
- Has preferences — one for each product group, specifying which method to use for that group.
- Combines the rates from each group’s preferred method into a single rate shown to the customer.
Preferences
Section titled “Preferences”For each product group, you choose one of:
- A specific method — always use this method’s rate for products in this group.
- Lowest rate — automatically pick the cheapest method available for that group.
Example
Section titled “Example”Zone: United States
- Default group: “Standard Shipping” ($5.00 flat)
- Heavy Items group: “Heavy Standard” ($15.00 flat)
Blended rate “Combined Shipping”:
- Default group preference → “Standard Shipping”
- Heavy Items preference → “Heavy Standard”
Customer orders one regular item + one heavy item:
- Regular item rate: $5.00
- Heavy item rate: $15.00
- Blended rate shown: $20.00
Rules on blended rates
Section titled “Rules on blended rates”Blended rates can have their own rules, just like regular shipping methods. These rules evaluate against the entire cart and can hide the blended rate, make it free, or adjust its price.
Common example: “Free combined shipping on orders over $200”
Free shipping threshold
Section titled “Free shipping threshold”Like regular methods, blended rates support a free shipping threshold. If the cart total exceeds the threshold, the blended rate becomes free.
Plan limits
Section titled “Plan limits”| Plan | Blended Rates |
|---|---|
| Starter | 1 |
| Pro | 5 |
| Enterprise | Unlimited |