# Use Cases for Shipping Test

Eraya’s **Shipping Test** allows merchants to experiment with different shipping rate strategies to understand how they affect conversion, average order value (AOV), and overall profitability.\
Currently, Eraya supports **Flat Rate** and **Threshold-based** shipping tests.

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### 1. Flat Rate vs Free Shipping

Flat rate shipping tests are useful to understand how customers respond to a fixed delivery fee compared to free or discounted shipping offers.

**Example:**

* **A (Control):** $5 flat rate shipping
* **B (Variation):** Free shipping

If total conversion and average order value both increase, offering free shipping may be offset by higher sales volume.

**Why use it:**

* To find the balance between shipping costs and order conversion.
* To test whether free shipping increases cart completion rates.

***

### 2. Testing Free Shipping Thresholds

Threshold-based tests help determine the best minimum order value required to qualify for free shipping — encouraging customers to increase their cart size.

**Example:**

* **A (Control):** Free shipping over $75
* **B (Variation):** Free shipping over $90

Eraya measures changes in **average order value**, **cart completion rate**, and **revenue** between the two groups.

**Why use it:**

* To optimize AOV by motivating customers to add more items.
* To test if a higher threshold negatively affects conversion.

***

### 3. Reducing Cart Abandonment

Shipping cost is one of the top reasons for cart abandonment.\
Testing different flat rate or free-shipping thresholds can help you find the sweet spot that reduces friction without hurting margins.

**Example:**

* **A (Control):** $6.99 flat shipping
* **B (Variation):** $4.99 flat shipping

If orders increase significantly while profit per order remains acceptable, lowering the shipping fee may improve overall profitability.

***

### ⚙️ Supported Setup

Eraya currently supports:

* **Flat Rate Shipping Test**\
  Compare a fixed shipping fee with free or discounted shipping.
* **Threshold-Based Shipping Test**\
  Compare two different free-shipping thresholds (e.g., $60 vs $80).

Both methods automatically track **conversion rate**, **average order value**, and **total revenue per variant**.

Multi-rate and dynamic-zone shipping tests will be available in future updates.

***

### ✅ Best Practices

* **Test for at least 2–3 weeks** to capture both new and returning visitors.
* **Avoid overlapping promotions** (e.g., discounts or bundle offers) that can influence results.
* **Choose meaningful differences** in shipping price or threshold (10–20% gap).
* **Monitor profit margin impact** — higher conversions don’t always mean higher profit.
* **Apply consistent messaging** across banners, checkout, and product pages.

***

### 🚫 When Not to Run a Shipping Test

* During **major promotional campaigns** (e.g., site-wide discounts or seasonal sales).
* When your **logistics costs** or **carrier rates** are changing.
* If your store offers **free shipping site-wide** as a default policy.
* When **inventory or delivery timelines** are inconsistent.
* If other A/B tests (price, discount, or bundle tests) are active on the same products.


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