Generate a compliant, ready-to-paste shipping policy for your Shopify store in under 60 seconds. Built for supplement, beauty, CBD, pet, and apparel brands with industry-specific carrier defaults, realistic transit times, and WISMO-prevention language that cuts "where is my order" calls in half.

How to use this shipping policy generator

1. Enter your store name

Use the exact name customers see at checkout. If you sell under a DBA, use the customer-facing brand, not the LLC.

2. Pick your industry

The generator auto-fills sensible defaults. Supplement brands default to 3-5 day USPS with free shipping over $50. Beauty defaults to 3-5 day UPS with $50 free shipping. Pet defaults to 3-5 day UPS/FedEx with $35 free shipping. CBD defaults to USPS 5-7 day with no free shipping due to age verification costs. You can override any default after it loads.

3. Set your domestic speed

Most ecommerce stores land at 3-5 business days. Next-day is expensive to sustain unless you are in pet food or electronics. 5-7 day feels slow in 2026 post-Amazon Prime. If you use a 3PL with regional warehouses, 3-5 day is realistic. If you ship from a single warehouse coast-to-coast, disclose that explicitly so coast customers set accurate expectations.

4. Decide your free shipping threshold

Free shipping thresholds lift average order value 20 to 30% when set correctly. Too low ($15 to $25) eats margin. Too high ($150+) reduces the lift because customers stop treating it as reachable. The sweet spot for most DTC brands is 1.2 to 1.5 times your current AOV.

5. Copy to clipboard and paste into Shopify

Head to Settings, Policies, Shipping policy. Paste directly. Shopify auto-displays it at checkout, in order confirmation emails, and in the legal footer.

What is a shipping policy?

A shipping policy is a written document on your store that tells customers how you ship, when they will receive orders, what they pay, and what happens if something goes wrong. Under FTC rules (16 CFR §435, the Mail Order Rule), US ecommerce merchants are required to disclose shipping timelines and ship within the promised window, or notify customers of delays with the option to cancel for a full refund. Missing or vague shipping terms expose you to both FTC enforcement and chargebacks.

A clear shipping policy is the fastest tool you have for cutting two things: "where is my order" phone calls (WISMO) and chargebacks from customers who claim the package never arrived. Shopify stores with detailed shipping policies see 30 to 50% fewer WISMO calls than stores with boilerplate templates, according to analysis of call-center data across DTC brands we work with.

According to Shopify's shipping documentation, your policy should cover processing time, carriers, delivery speeds, pricing, international fulfillment, lost package handling, and tracking. Shopify also auto-links to this policy during checkout in most themes.

What must a shipping policy include?

A defensible shipping policy has nine required sections. The generator above produces all of them automatically, but here is the checklist:

Required (FTC Mail Order Rule baseline):

• Processing time: how long before the order leaves your warehouse
• Domestic shipping speeds: carrier and transit window, by service tier
• Shipping rates: flat, calculated at checkout, or threshold-based free shipping
• International shipping: whether you ship it, transit time, customs handling
• Tracking: how and when customers receive tracking numbers
• Address changes: rules for modifying a shipping address after checkout
• Lost or stolen packages: process for filing a claim, response time
• Weather, holiday, and carrier delays: expectation-setting for peak and weather events
• Contact: email, phone, chat

Recommended (reduce WISMO calls by 40 to 60%):

• Carrier-specific language (USPS vs UPS vs FedEx differ on dimensional weight, transit, claim rules)
• CBD state-restriction list if you sell hemp/CBD products
• EU customs/IOSS disclosure if you ship to the EU
• 24/7 status channel reference (phone, AI agent, or email with SLA)

Missing any required section creates ambiguity that usually resolves in the customer's favor during a dispute. The FTC's Mail Order Rule specifically requires you to disclose a delivery window and notify customers if you cannot meet it.

Why a clear shipping policy matters for Shopify merchants

Shipping questions are the number one driver of customer-service phone calls for DTC Shopify stores. Across the 2,100+ stores we have worked with through Ringly, "where is my order" and "when will my package arrive" account for 40 to 55% of inbound call volume for brands in beauty, supplements, apparel, and pet.

Most stores handle those calls with human agents at $18 to $25 per hour loaded cost. A typical WISMO call runs 3 to 5 minutes. At 400 WISMO calls per month, that is $400 to $700 in labor spent on questions a customer could have answered by checking their tracking link. Multiply that across peak season (November through January) and most stores spend $2,000 to $5,000 on WISMO calls alone.

A well-written shipping policy cuts that volume roughly in half. Customers read it, find their answer, and skip the call. The other half still needs human or AI help, which is where Ringly's AI phone agent takes over: it answers order-status questions 24/7 by pulling your policy from its knowledge base and checking live tracking against Shopify order data in real time.

The free shipping threshold you set also affects call volume. Stores with clearly disclosed thresholds ("orders over $50 ship free") generate 25% fewer cart-abandonment questions and "did I qualify for free shipping" calls than stores with vague language. Specificity reduces friction both at checkout and post-purchase.

Here are other resources for Shopify brands scaling support and fulfillment:

• Shopify customer service guide - end-to-end playbook for DTC support
• Return Policy Generator - compliant return terms in 60 seconds
• Shopify customer service response time - benchmark by channel
• Best Shopify customer service apps - tools ranked for ecommerce
• How to reduce refund rate on Shopify - tactics beyond the policy
• AI Phone Agent ROI Calculator - see what 24/7 phone support costs
• Refund Email Generator - templated empathetic responses
• Markup Calculator - make sure shipping subsidies do not eat margin
• Shopify returns app guide - pair your shipping policy with returns automation
• Support Cost Per Ticket Calculator - true cost per customer interaction

Start a 14-day free trial of Ringly and feed your new shipping policy into the AI agent's knowledge base. The first 2,100+ stores that did this cut WISMO call volume by 52% on average.

Frequently asked questions

Is a shipping policy legally required?

In the US, the FTC Mail Order Rule (16 CFR §435) requires merchants to disclose shipping timelines and ship within the promised window or notify customers of delays with a cancellation option. A written shipping policy is the standard way to meet that disclosure requirement. In the EU, the Consumer Rights Directive requires delivery terms to be disclosed before checkout. Skip the policy and you take on both legal risk and chargeback risk.

How fast should my shipping be?

Most DTC Shopify stores promise 3 to 5 business days domestic. Pet food and electronics often promise 1 to 2 day. CBD and supplements typically run 3 to 5 day USPS. Apparel can run up to 5 to 7 day without customer complaints if the brand positioning is right. The wrong answer is being slower than your promise. Under-promise and over-deliver.

What should my free shipping threshold be?

Free shipping thresholds of 1.2 to 1.5 times your current AOV work best. If AOV is $45, set the threshold at $55 to $65. Thresholds below $25 eat margin. Thresholds above $150 stop driving AOV lift because customers see them as out of reach. Beauty and supplements typically land at $40 to $50. Apparel at $75 to $100. Pet at $35 to $49.

Do I need international shipping in my policy?

Only if you ship internationally. If you do not, state it clearly ("We currently ship to US addresses only"). If you do, disclose transit time, customs handling, and who pays duties. For EU buyers, reference IOSS (Import One-Stop Shop) compliance for orders under EUR 150. Vague or missing international language is a top cause of chargebacks from cross-border buyers.

How do I handle lost or stolen packages?

Most stores require 3 business days after the "delivered" tracking status before opening an investigation. Ask the customer to check with neighbors and their building first. If still missing, file a carrier claim (USPS, UPS, FedEx all have online claim forms) and either issue a replacement or refund once confirmed. Do not make customers wait for carrier settlement to get their product. That is the fastest way to get a chargeback.

Can I restrict CBD shipping to certain states?

Yes, and you probably must. State Controlled Substances Acts vary. As of 2026, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, and South Dakota have the most restrictive CBD laws. Disclose your block list in the shipping policy and enforce it at checkout with a state-level address check. Age verification (21+) at delivery is also standard.

How does Ringly reduce "where is my order" calls?

Feed your shipping policy into Ringly's AI phone agent knowledge base and connect your Shopify store. When a customer calls asking "where is my order" or "when will it arrive," Ringly pulls the live tracking number from Shopify, checks the carrier API, and answers in real-time with the exact location and delivery ETA. Most stores cut WISMO call volume 40 to 60% after activating this, which frees human agents for higher-value issues like returns and damaged packages.

Related tools

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• AOV Calculator — find your average order value and model lift scenarios
• Conversion Rate Calculator — turn sessions and orders into CVR with industry benchmarks