The Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce plugin, along with its Pro version (https://wordpress.org/plugins/conditional-shipping-for-woocommerce/), empowers you to create granular shipping rules based on product tags within your WooCommerce store. This article explores the functionalities of Require Product Tags and Exclude Product Tags, enabling you to craft a shipping experience that aligns with specific product attributes or promotions.
Understanding Product Tags
WooCommerce allows you to assign tags to your products for better organization and product filtering. These tags act as keywords describing product attributes, features, or other relevant details. Conditional Shipping leverages these tags to define targeted shipping rules.
Using Require Product Tags
- Enable Condition: Activate the checkbox next to “Enable condition” for a shipping method (e.g., Flat Rate) to define product tag requirements.
- Selecting Tags: You haven’t chosen any tags yet. By specifying tags (e.g., “new_arrival”), only customers adding products with that tag to their cart would see the “Flat Rate” shipping option during checkout.
Potential Use Cases
- Promotional Shipping: You might offer free shipping (using “Require Product Tags”) on all products with a specific tag (e.g., “sale”) to incentivize customers to explore your ongoing sale.
- Express Shipping for New Arrivals: If you want to highlight the availability of express shipping (using “Require Product Tags”) for newly arrived products (tagged with “new_arrival”), you can achieve this through conditional shipping rules.
Using Exclude Product Tags
- Enable Condition: Activate the checkbox next to “Enable condition” for a shipping method (e.g., Local Pickup) to define product tag exclusions.
- Selecting Tags: You haven’t chosen any tags yet. By specifying tags (e.g., “bulky”), you can ensure customers adding products with that excluded tag wouldn’t see the “Local Pickup” option during checkout.
Potential Use Cases
- Large or Oversized Items: For products tagged with “bulky” or “oversized”, you can use “Exclude Product Tags” to prevent customers from choosing “Local Pickup” and prioritize alternative shipping methods suitable for these items.
- Inventory Management: If you have limited stock availability for a specific tag (e.g., “pre-order”), you can temporarily exclude that tag from Local Pickup using “Exclude Product Tags” to prioritize fulfilling online orders while managing in-store stock for pre-ordered items.
Choosing Between Require and Exclude
- Use “Require Product Tags” to make specific shipping methods available only when customers add products with certain tags (e.g., free shipping on “sale” items).
- Use “Exclude Product Tags” to restrict specific shipping methods from being used when customers add products with certain tags (e.g., excluding “Local Pickup” for “bulky” items).
Additional Considerations
- Effective Tagging: Ensure you use relevant and descriptive tags for your products to leverage the full potential of this functionality.
- Large Tag Lists: Consider the Conditional Shipping Pro version, which offers bulk import options for product tags, making it easier to manage a vast product catalog.
In Conclusion
By leveraging “Require Product Tags” and “Exclude Product Tags” within Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce, you can create a highly targeted shipping strategy that highlights specific product features, promotes strategic sales, and optimizes your fulfillment process based on product attributes. Remember to explore the Conditional Shipping Pro version for extended features, especially if managing a large number of product tags.