Could offering free shipping even with a minimum order value drastically reduce my abandonment rate?

As a Shopify store owner in the competitive e-commerce landscape, I've been battling a persistent challenge: cart abandonment. My analytics show that nearly 70% of potential customers add items to their cart but never complete the purchase. One recurring pattern I've noticed is that when shipping costs become visible during checkout, customers frequently exit. It feels like I'm losing sales right at the finish line. I've heard whispers in e-commerce forums about free shipping strategies, but I'm cautious. Setting a minimum order value seems logical – it could encourage customers to add more items to their cart to qualify. But will this actually reduce abandonment, or just create another barrier? My margins are already tight, and I'm worried about absorbing shipping costs. I need a data-driven approach that doesn't compromise my profitability. If I could find a way to make free shipping feel like a win-win – where customers feel they're getting a great deal, and I'm strategically increasing my average order value – that would be a game-changer for my store's conversion rates.