Choosing the appropriate price and shipping costs is crucial when managing a Shopify online business. One effective method is to sell by weight on Shopify which enables Shopify merchants to adjust the price according to the weight of the goods. In this maker, shipping costs may be managed with flexibility, ranging from free delivery to varied prices for different weights.
Here, we will take you through Shopify sell products by weight for your business.
Contents
What is selling by weight in Shopify?
As the name says, selling by weight on Shopify is about setting the price for your products by their exact weight, instead of by unit. For instance, it could be in grams, kilograms, ounces, or pounds. This method allows you to create the minimum and maximum total weights of your order to calculate the flat shipping rates. By setting Shopify weight-based tiers, the system will automatically apply the specific rate for the total weight of the cart at checkout, making it useful for products where shipping costs vary significantly with weight, such as bulk goods or heavy items.
Why might you need to sell by weight on Shopify?
Before diving into how to sell by weight on Shopify, let’s get to know why it is important for e-commerce businesses.
Accuracy
Product weight plays an important role in determining shipping costs. By precisely specifying product weight, your customers can easily get accurate shipping rates during the checkout process. We can say that this is an effective way to bring customers happiness and satisfaction by letting them choose and pay for the amount of products that they really want without confusing the shipping fees.
Inventory management
In addition to calculating accurate shipping rates, selling products by weight on Shopify also helps you to master managing inventory. Knowing the weight of each product gives you the closest look and control over your inventory levels like how much you have in stock and how much you have sold. Consequently, it prevents you from wasting and overstocking, helps you sell every last piece of your products, ensures a smooth and efficient order fulfillment process, and maximizes your profit.
Expand your reach
Shopify sell products by weight is a great way for businesses to approach wider customers all over the globe. Not everyone can afford to buy in bulk, thus offering a wide range of quantities by weight can encourage customers to place a smaller order of a few different products. This setup enables them to only pay shipping costs proportionate to the weight of their orders, which can reduce shipping rates for small orders and attract more customers.
Moreover, each country has its own regulations and restrictions about the package’s weight that is allowed to be shipped. Therefore, it is essential to provide precise product weight to make sure the order is compliant with these strict regulations and avoid any legal issues or delays in customs clearance.
Cost recovery
When merchants sell by weight on Shopify, your customers only buy the exact amount they need, leading to decreasing the excess production and storage costs. Selling products by weight is especially worthwhile for perishable and short-life-circle goods such as foods, chemicals, agricultural products, etc which unsold surplus causes significant damage and loss. Additionally, weight-based shipping helps businesses avoid the pre-packaging cost and unsold inventory expense since the products are only packaged to order.
How to sell by weight on Shopify?
We know this is the main reason that you visit this blog. Now, let’s start to sell by weight on Shopify!
Add product weight on Shopify
Step 1: Log in to your Shopify account and navigate to the Shopify admin dashboard
Step 2: On the left-hand side of the screen, select the “Products” section
Step 3: You are now in the Products section. Here you can choose the specific product that you want to fill its weight. After that, the product editing page appears for your edition.
Step 4: Scroll down and select “Weight”. This is where you input the weight measurement
Step 5: Enter the value of the weight
Step 6: From the dropdown menu next to the weight field, choose the appropriate weight unit. Some common units are pounds, kilograms, ounces,…Choose the one that suits your products and requirements.
Step 7: Click on “Save” or “Update” to confirm the changes.
Set up weight-based shipping
Step 1: From your Shopify admin dashboard, click “Setting” ⇒ Choose “Shipping”
Step 2: At the Shipping Zone tab, scroll down and choose the one you want, then click on “Edit”
Step 3: Find the Weight based rated ⇒ Add the rate
Step 4: Write the concise name for the shipping and delivery option in the Name field.
Step 5: In the Range section, you will need to enter the minimum and maximum weight values. It allows customers to place the amount in this range. If the order is out of these values, it is impossible to apply this rate
Step 6: Enter the price of the shipping rate. The rate will automatically apply for the amount the customers buy.
Step 7: Click Done ⇒ Save to save changes. Now, you are selling by weight in Shopify
Tips for Shopify sell products by weight
- Using a reliable and precise weighing scale, make sure your scale provides accurate measurements and is integrated with your Shopify store point of sale
- Calibrate your scale regularly to avoid inaccuracy and ensure precise measurements
- Set up variants by weight to adjust pricing for each weight variant accordingly and allow customers to easily select weight options
- Install weight-based pricing apps. This will help you automatically calculate price based on the chosen weight
- Label your package with the product type, exact weight, and package date for easy classification
- Choosing the right packaging material and techniques for your products and weights to make sure there is no damage during the shipment.
Best Shopify apps for weight-based selling
Sell Products by Weight in POS by Filljoy
Price:
- $25 per month, free trial available
- +$10 per month for each additional POS location
- additional costs for hardware scale integration.
Highlight Features:
- Add products with precise prices and decimal quantity details to your POS cart.
- Automated tracking and inventory changes. Combine in-store and online inventory
- Shopify sales reporting, vendor, product type, and product cost (COGS) are all included.
- Access stored container tare weights and enter manual tare weights.
- Scale integration is possible, but it needs specialized hardware.
- Barcode scanning, order editing, sell by weight
- Manual tare weights, multi-location supported
Weyify IBW by Weyify
Price:
- Free plan
- Small shop: $15 per month
- Growth shop: $49 per month
- Enterprise: $199 per month
Highlight Features:
- Sell your weighable products with variants
- Provides online and export reports to make data-driven decisions for stock and pricing adjustments
- Trade-approved scales, centralized inventory management
- Multiple retail location support
- Offer discounts based on the weight customers choose, encouraging bulk purchases with custom discount settings
- Allow users to set low inventory alerts for multiple weights per product.
Alumify: Weigh it by Alumify Apps
Price:
- $9.99 per month
- Free trial available
Highlight Features:
- Allow goods to be paid for by weight using an easy-to-use administrative process.
- Easy reporting procedures are made possible by the native POS extension, which provides a neat, integrated experience within Shopify POS. Shopify product metafields are used to store data.
- Offers weight-based pricing that is automated.
- Insights on weight-based pricing performance, stock turnover rates, and sales trends are provided via integrated analytics.
- Inventory tracking in real-time
IzyUnit: Price Per Unit
Price:
- Free plan available
- Pro plan costs $24.99 per month
Highlight Features:
- Sell goods in decimal quantities.
- For a better user experience, the unit price is shown on product and collection pages.
- It’s all automatic. Products may be linked and unlinked with a single click.
- To enable a variety of product kinds, the program supports many units (such as weight, volume, and length).
- Putting unit costs next to product listings
- Real-time unit pricing adjustments
FAQs
How to edit and update product weights in Shopify
For adjusting product weight, please follow these steps:
- Log into your Shopify admin page
- Choose “Products” in the left-hand menu
- Click on the product you want to edit
- Choose “Variants” in the scroll-down menu
- Click on “Weight” to enter the new weight for the product
- Enter “Save” to apply the change
To make changes for more products, repeat step 4 to step 6. Once you have finished updating the weight for all the variants, click on the “Save” to confirm the changes to the product. Your product weights have now been successfully updated in Shopify.
What types of products are ideal for weight-based pricing?
Selling by weight in Shopify works best for products that vary in size or density, such as food items (meats, produce, spices), industrial materials (sand, gravel, metals), or bulk goods (cleaning supplies, raw ingredients).
Are there any legal considerations when selling by weight?
Some regions have specific regulations on selling by weight, especially for food or precious metals. Make sure to label products accurately and follow local requirements for unit pricing, labeling, and accuracy in weight measurements.
Conclusion
Selling by weight on Shopify not only streamline your shipping process and inventory management but also provides a better shopping experience for your customers. Therefore, pay attention to how you sell products by weight on Shopify.
By carefully following these steps and tips above, you can confidently add and manage your weight-based selling business. If you have any questions about this, do not hesitate to contact our BSS Commerce expert for prompt help. Happy selling!
