Customer expectations of eCommerce delivery have changed dramatically over the past decade. The speed and cost of shipping is an important factor that affects customers’ purchasing decisions. So it is very important for an online store to choose the best shipping strategy possible. Shipping settings help the store owner to create as many delivery methods and pick-up methods as required. When enabled, they are available for customers to choose from at checkout.

The cost of shipping may depend on various factors:

  1. Package dimensions
  2. Package weight
  3. Shipping destination
  4. Value of contents shipped
  5. Delivery time

Before choosing a shipping strategy, it is important to roughly calculate the shipping cost and then set the shipping costs.

Types of Shipping

Self Pick Up

Customers can stop by the store’s location to pick up their orders instead of waiting for a courier service to ship them out.

Curbside pick up

The customers simply place an order online and drive to the store once they’re notified that the order is ready. The customer parks the vehicle in a designated area near the store, and a store associate brings the pickup order out to the consumer’s vehicle. It is useful when customers don’t want to wait for delivery or prefer not to pay for shipping.

Free shipping

A shipping method where customers do not have to pay an additional shipping charge. Domestic shipping can use free shipping. An order subtotal threshold can be set for an order to qualify for free shipping.

Conditional Rate Shipping

Shipping rates are applied based on defined conditions. An order subtotal threshold may be set or different rates can be set for different ranges of the order subtotal.

Flat Rate Shipping

A fixed rate is charged to all the products regardless of order value. This method can be applied when shipping is done locally and the products sold have similar weight and size.

Adding delivery methods

The shipping and pickup page allows the creation of as many delivery methods as required. Those delivery methods that are enabled become visible to the customers at checkout. Customers can choose any one of these to proceed with the checkout out process.

To add Free Shipping

  1. Choose the Shipping & Pickup menu. The shipping & Pickup page displays the list of pickup methods and shipping methods available in the store. These methods can be enabled or disabled based on which ones are to be made available to the customers at check out.

  2. Click on Add icon to Add Delivery.

  3. A new page opens where four types of delivery methods are available namely Free Shipping, Flat rate shipping, Conditional rate shipping and Google distance.

  4. To set Up free shipping click on the Set Up Free Shipping.

  5. Enter the shipping name.

  6. Add description for the customers that need to be displayed at checkout. Specify the time it usually takes for orders to arrive, the way in which the shipment will be handed over to the buyer, or anything else you feel is important.

  7. Specify the minimum order subtotal, i.e. the sum of all items in the cart before adding shipping costs and discounts. When this limit is reached, customers will be able to choose this shipping option at checkout. If free shipping is to be offered for all order subtotals, leave the field with the default 0.00 amount.

  8. Choose the shipping type i.e, shipping or Local Delivery. By choosing Shipping, third-party shipping partners can deliver the products whereas local delivery will be taken care of by the store owner.

  9. Enable the toggle to add the Estimated Delivery Date. Enter the order preparation days i.e, the number of days to prepare an order. Enter the number of days it takes to deliver an order and the time of the day to place an order.

  10. Set the shipping/Delivery region. Specify the destination you intend to ship to. Should shipping rates differ depending on the customer’s location, allocate a different shipping method and assign it to the required destination zone. If the All destinations option is selected, free shipping will be available to all shipping regions. If this shipping method is to be applied to specific regions, Advance settings can be selected and delivery zones can be selected from the drop-down menu. New zones can be created by clicking on Manage Zones.

  11. Select the Shipping/Delivery rate. It can be either based on Subtotal or Subtotal +Tax.

  12. Save the changes.

To add Flat Rate Shipping

A single rate can be set to ship all orders to specific locations regardless of the quantity. A flat rate can be a whole amount or a percentage of the order subtotal.

  1. Choose the Shipping & Pickup menu. The shipping & Pickup page displays the list of pickup methods and shipping methods available in the store. These methods can be enabled or disabled based on which ones are to be made available to the customers at check out.
  2. Click on Add icon to Add Delivery.
  3. To set up Flat Rate shipping, click on the Set Up Flat rate.
  4. Enter the shipping name, and shipping type(shipping or Local Delivery).
  5. Add description for the customers that need to be displayed at checkout. Specify the time it usually takes for orders to arrive, the way in which the shipment will be handed over to the buyer, or anything else you feel is important.
  6. Specify the minimum order subtotal at which this shipping option becomes active at checkout.
  7. Choose the shipping type i.e, shipping or Local Delivery. By choosing Shipping, third-party shipping partners can deliver the products whereas local delivery will be taken care of by the store owner.
  8. Enable the toggle to add the Estimated Delivery Date. Enter the order preparation days i.e, the number of days to prepare an order. Enter the number of days it takes to deliver an order and the time of the day to place an order.
  9. Set the Shipping/Delivery region to specify the destinations the orders will be shipped using this delivery method.

  10. Select the Shipping/Delivery rate. It can be either based on Subtotal or Subtotal + Tax.

  11. Enter the Shipping/Delivery Rate Type as either an amount or percentage. Enter the value for Amount or Percentage.
  12. Save the changes.

To add Conditional Shipping

  1. Choose the Shipping & Pickup menu. The shipping & Pickup page displays the list of pickup methods and shipping methods available in the store. These methods can be enabled or disabled based on which ones are to be made available to the customers at check out.
  2. Click on Add icon to Add Delivery.
  3. To set up conditional shipping, click on the Set Up Conditional Shipping.
  4. Enter the shipping name, and shipping type(shipping or Local Delivery).
  5. Add description for the customers that need to be displayed at checkout. Specify the time it usually takes for orders to arrive, the way in which the shipment will be handed over to the buyer, or anything else you feel is important for customers to know about this shipping option.
  6. Specify the minimum order subtotal at which this shipping option becomes active at checkout.
  7. Choose the shipping type i.e, shipping or Local Delivery. By choosing Shipping, third-party shipping partners can deliver the products whereas local delivery will be taken care of by the store owner.
  8. Enable the toggle to add the Estimated Delivery Date. Enter the order preparation days i.e, the number of days to prepare an order. Enter the number of days it takes to deliver an order and the time of the day to place an order.
  9. Set the Shipping/Delivery region to specify the destinations the orders will be shipped using this delivery method.
  10. Select the Shipping/Delivery rate. It can be either based on Subtotal or Subtotal +Tax.
  11. Enter the shipping rate as either an amount or percentage of the subtotal.

  12. Set the shipping rates for each range of SubTotal. For example, $2 will be charged for orders with a subtotal between $10 and $20.

  13. Save the changes.

To add Google distance shipping

ZenBasket’s Google distance Matrix API integration calculates the travel distance between the defined origin and selected destinations. This integration allows you to set shipping rates based on the distance between your store’s location and the shipping address.

  1. Choose the Shipping & Pickup menu. The shipping & Pickup page displays the list of pickup methods and shipping methods available in the store. These methods can be enabled or disabled based on which ones are to be made available to the customers at check out.
  2. Click on Add icon to Add Delivery.
  3. To set up Google distance shipping, click on the Set Up Google Distance.
  4. Enter the shipping name, and shipping type(shipping or Local Delivery).
  5. Add description for the customers that need to be displayed at checkout. Specify the time it usually takes for orders to arrive, the way in which the shipment will be handed over to the buyer, or anything else you feel is important for customers to know about this shipping option.
  6. Specify the minimum order subtotal at which this shipping option should become active at checkout.
  7. Enable the toggle to add the Estimated Delivery Date. Enter the order preparation days i.e, the number of days to prepare an order. Enter the number of days it takes to deliver an order and the time of the day to place an order.
  8. Choose the shipping type i.e, shipping or Local Delivery. By choosing Shipping, third-party shipping partners can deliver the products whereas local delivery will be taken care of by the store owner.
  9. Select the Shipping/Delivery rate. It can be either based on Subtotal or Subtotal + Tax.
  10. Enter the shipping rate as either an amount or percentage of the subtotal and also enter the value.
  11. Set the Shipping/Delivery region to specify the distance between the shipping address and the store. For example, 5-10 miles radius from the shop. Now only those customers within your defined delivery area will be able to select this shipping method at the time of checkout. If the shipping address falls outside the specified area, this shipping method will be disabled at checkout.
  12. Click Save.

Adding Pick Up methods

The admin can add a curbside, drive-through, or in-store pickup. This option allows the store owner to specify the business hours, the pickup location, and add brief instructions on how the pickup works for customers. Below are the steps to add a pick-up method.

  1. Choose the Shipping & Pickup menu. The shipping & Pickup page displays the list of pickup methods and shipping methods available in the store. These methods can be enabled or disabled based on which ones are to be made available to the customers at check out.

  2. Click on Add icon to Add Pickup.

  3. Enter the pickup name (Eg, Curbside pick up or In-store pick up)

  4. Mention the instructions, if any, regarding the pickup time, location, and contact number of the pickup location, etc.

  5. Enter the store’s address or pickup address and the pickup fee if applicable.

  6. Enable the Pickup date and time of this location to let a customer choose from the Date and Time listed by the store owner for the pickup. Operating hours can be set to limit pickup time options to business hours only. Click on add icon to add additional timing to each day.

  7. Choose the order fulfillment time. It is the time it takes to prepare an order for pickup.
  8. Click on Save. Repeat the same steps to add more pickup options.

Video Tutorial