How to set shipping rates for specific Shopify customers

Updated August 13, 2026 · SMART Shipping Rates (E-TRADE PARTNER)

Shopify shipping zones show the same rates to every buyer in the zone. SMART Shipping Rates & Rules can calculate a different rate for named customers, or match the shipping-address phone as typed. Use customer tags for wholesale and VIP segments, and named customers for true account exceptions. Calculated rates need Shopify Carrier Service. Delivery customizations do not.

Most stores do not need a unique rate for every account. They need one rule for a group (wholesale, VIP, staff) and a handful of exceptions: this cafe always ships on freight terms, that school gets a negotiated price, this house account should never see the retail free-shipping offer as a calculated rate.

Named-customer matching is for those exceptions. If the same terms apply to dozens of buyers, tag them in Shopify and use customer tag rules instead. Phone matching is a separate, literal check on the shipping address phone the buyer typed, not a formatted directory lookup.

Choose tags, named customers, or phone

• Customer tags are the right switch for wholesale, VIP, membership, and staff groups.
• The Customer condition picks named accounts with is any or is not any.
• The Phone condition compares the shipping-address phone as typed. +1 555 and 555 are different strings.
• Guest checkout has no customer id, so is any fails and is not any passes. Phone is empty unless the buyer entered one.

What Shopify can and cannot do natively

Shopify can store customer accounts, tags, and addresses. Shipping settings still price the zone, not the person. There is no native way to return a calculated freight rate for one account, or to match a typed shipping phone, without a rule layer.

Setup steps in SMART Shipping Rates & Rules

1. If the terms apply to a group, tag those customers in Shopify and follow the B2B and D2C guide or hide methods by customer tag.
2. For a true exception, open Shipping rates and check the Carrier Service notice if zone creation is disabled.
3. Create the calculated rate (for example freight terms or a negotiated amount).
4. Add a Customer condition, pick the named accounts, and set is any. Use is not any when those accounts should be excluded from a retail rate.
5. Add a Phone condition only when you must match the shipping-address phone as typed. Leave it off if the buyer often skips phone.
6. Open Checkout simulator, select that customer (and the phone string if you use Phone), then run the rate. Confirm any hide rules in a real checkout.

Worked example: one account on freight terms

A pantry brand sells retail parcels and wholesale cases. Most trade buyers are tagged wholesale and use the store's B2B shipping setup. One standing account, Acme Catering, always ships on freight terms at a negotiated $0 calculated rate, even when the cart is small. Guests and untagged retail buyers should keep Standard delivery.

1. Keep the wholesale group on customer tags, as in the B2B and D2C guide.
2. In Shipping rates, create a Freight terms calculated rate at $0.
3. Add Customer, pick Acme Catering, and set is any.
4. If a retail calculated rate should never apply to that account, add is not any on the retail rate for the same customer.
5. In Checkout simulator, select Acme Catering and run the cart, then run the same cart with no customer selected to confirm guests do not get freight terms.

The named account gets the exception. Everyone else stays on tags or the default zone. That is easier to maintain than picking every wholesale customer by name.

Tips for account-specific rates

• Use tags for wholesale and VIP segments. Use named customers when this one account always gets different terms.
• Test guest checkout on every Customer rule. is any fails without a customer id. is not any passes for guests.
• Treat Phone as a typed string. +1 555 and 555 do not match each other, and a blank phone does not match a stored number.
• For method visibility (hide, rename, show only), use hide shipping methods by customer tag and delivery customizations.
• See shipping rates and zones for calculated rates, and Checkout simulator to pick a customer before you confirm hide rules in checkout.

How to choose the simplest rule

If a group of tagged buyers should see different existing methods, use Delivery customizations. If one named account needs a different calculated amount, use Shipping rates with Customer. If you also need a phone match for a typed shipping number, add Phone on that same calculated rate, and keep the string identical to checkout.

Frequently asked questions