Treating free shipping as a logistics cost muddles financial accuracy, distorts margin clarity, and hides true customer acquisition expenses. By recording it as part of CAC, stores gain clearer visibility into their marketing spend efficiency and strategic success. This reclassification supports operational transparency, ensuring that marketing, finance, and logistics teams align towards the same customer acquisition goals. For instance, a Shopify store's misallocation of free shipping under logistics inflates operational costs and deceives profitability calculations. When reallocated under CAC, the store can identify excessive marketing expenditure and optimize its acquisition strategy accordingly.