We get this question a lot:

Why is the shipping zip / postal code being asked for on the shopping cart page in ShopSite?

Many times a merchant does not expect this text box to appear on their initial cart page. Here are the 7 reasons why it will be displayed.

1. Sales tax by zip code

Commerce Setup -> Sales Tax

This is the obvious one. If you set ShopSite to calculate sales tax based on the shipping zip code of the shopper, then the customer will be prompted to enter their shipping zip code on the cart page.

Note: You can restrict which countries this sales tax zip code applies to, so international customers who have a postal code that matches a US based one will not be charged sales tax.

2. Real-time shipping options

Commerce Setup -> Shipping

If you are using any of the built-in real-time shipping options offered by ShopSite (UPS, FedEx, USPS), then the customer will be asked to enter their zip code on the cart page to receive accurate shipping rates.

3. Custom shipping API enabled

Commerce Setup -> Shipping -> Configure Add-on

If you have a custom shipping API script (or even if you have it checked but do not use one), then the zip code will be asked for on the cart page.

4. Free shipping enabled

Commerce Setup -> Shipping

This one can catch a merchant off-guard. If you enable the free shipping feature in ShopSite, this will cause the zip code question to appear on the shopping cart page. Why?

Because free shipping can be restricted by postal codes. Even if you do not restrict your free shipping by zip code, the text box will still appear. There is no way around this.

5. Free shipping coupon created

Merchandising -> Coupons

If you have a free shipping coupon created in your store, customers will need to enter their shipping zip code on the cart page. For the same reason as above, free shipping offers can be restricted from certain zip codes.

6. VAT

Commerce Setup -> Tax

If you charge Value Added Tax (VAT/GST) in your store, then your customers will be required to enter their postal code to determine their VAT amount.

7. Tax API / AvaTax service

Commerce Setup -> Tax

If your store uses a tax API or the AvaTax service, your customers will need to enter their zip code on the initial cart page.

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Those are the 7 reasons why the zip code text field will appear on the initial cart page in ShopSite. If you’re not using any of the above features, then customers will not have to enter their shipping zip/postal code until the secure checkout page.

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