Why and how to set up an 'override' or dominant shipping zone then follow the steps below.
Why Use Dominant Shipping Zones
For some merchants it may be the case that certain items require specialist shipping zones to be set up. This could be for fragile lighting products or heavy, courier only products like furniture, etc. Rather than having multiple shipping options per product you and therefore additional costs to the customers you can set up a dominant or overriding shipping method.
Example:
A Gardening Centre sells pallets of Soil and Gravel. These are heavy items that need to be delivered on a pallet.
A customer purchases 5 x Gravel, 2 x Soil and 10 x Ivy for their new low-maintenance garden.
With a Dominant Shipping zone the customer will see just 1 delivery option, based on the Gravel and Soil delivery method.
Without a Dominant Shipping zone the customer sees 2 options for delivery: 1 for the Heavy Items and 1 for the Plants. This may lead to the customer abandoning the cart due to the cost of shipping.
How To Setup A Dominant Shipping Zone
Step 1:
Navigate to Settings > Shipping/Delivery
Step 2:
Click the 'Add Custom Method' button
Step 3:
Give the Shipping Zone a Display Name and Display Description
Step 4:
Select the applicable Zone(s) and/or Country Zones
Step 5:
Set the Method Type to "Based on Cart Weight" and enter the minimum weight, maximum weight and shipping charges as needed.
Click the 'Add New Line' button to add more lines to zone.
Note:
Dominant Zones can only be based on Cart Weight.
Step 6:
Activate the Zone as a ' Dominant Zone' by ticking the box (as shown below)
Step 7:
Enter the relevant 'override' products to the Zone under the 'Trigger Products' section.
Common Queries
"I have 2 Dominant Zones setup, which one will the customer see?"
The platform will check the products in the cart/basket against each of the shipping zones that you have set up.
If there are multiple dominant zones setup and the products in the cart fit the criteria set then both/all of the options will be shown to the customer. The customer can then make the best choice for their needs and continue with the checkout process.
"I have set up a dominant zone but it's not showing to my customers?"
In this instance, it's worth double-checking that you have added the correct Trigger Products (see Step 7).
Ensure that the Trigger products have a weight assigned.
Check that the minimum and maximum weight settings in the Shipping Zone are low enough or high enough to take the products (and multiples thereof) into account.
Finally, check that the Customer's country or region is allowed within the Shipping Zone.
If you have any queries about this feel free to get in touch with our Support team on Live Chat or via email.