Shopify shipping: How to set shipping options in Shopify

According to a survey by the Federal Statistical Office, a full 82% of Germans have already ordered online. One thing is crucial for all these orders: shipping. An efficient shipping strategy not only improves customer satisfaction, it can also increase sales.

With Shopify, you have numerous options for optimizing shipping. In this article, we will therefore show you how to set up shipping in Shopify, what options are available to you and how you can offer free shipping.

Shipping and delivery methods for online shops

Shopify offers various shipping methods that merchants can use depending on their needs and customer preferences:

Standard shipping

This is the most common shipping method where merchants ship packages to customers themselves. Shopify offers options for manual shipping costs or integration with shipping service providers for real-time calculation of shipping costs.

• Advantages: Cost control, flexibility, customer loyalty

• Disadvantages: increased time expenditure, scaling problems, limited shipping speed

Express shipping

For customers who need their orders quickly, many stores offer an express option, often through UPS, FedEx or similar providers.

• Advantages: fast delivery, competitive advantage, increased conversion rate

• Disadvantages: higher costs, not always available, logistical requirements

Fulfillment by third-party providers

Here, shipping is completely outsourced to fulfillment service providers such as Descartes pixi, alaiko or other specialized providers. They take care of storage, packaging and shipping, which saves retailers a considerable amount of time and effort.

• Advantages: Time and labor savings, scalability, automated processes

• Disadvantages: less control, costs, dependence on third-party providers

Dropshipping

With this method, products are shipped directly from the supplier to the customer. Shopify has numerous integrations with dropshipping apps such as Oberlo or Spocket that make the process seamless.

• Advantages: no stock required, wide product range, low administrative effort

• Disadvantages: low margins, longer delivery times, high level of competition, less control

Same-day delivery

Shopify does not offer native same-day delivery functionality directly in the platform. So to enable this feature with Shopify, you usually need to use a third-party app or integration. There are special apps in the Shopify App Store that are designed for same-day delivery, such as Gophr - Same day delivery.

Shopify Shipping

With Shopify Shipping, Shopify offers merchants an integrated shipping solution that helps them manage the shipping process directly from the Shopify dashboard. This feature provides a seamless way to create shipping labels, calculate shipping rates, and track packages without the need for additional software or external tools. Shopify Shipping is currently available in certain countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France.

Delivery methods

In addition to traditional shipping options, there are other delivery methods that merchants can integrate with Shopify:

• Click & Collect: Customers order online and collect the products from a physical store or pick-up point. This method saves on shipping costs and is particularly attractive for local stores.

• Local delivery: For stores operating in a specific region, a local delivery option can be offered, either by own drivers or by services such as DoorDash or Postmates.

Automated pick-up stations: Similar to Click & Collect, but without direct customer contact, customers can collect their orders from pick-up stations or lockers.

Where can I set up shipping with Shopify?

If you want to set up shipping in Shopify, first go to the Shopify admin area. There, navigate to “Settings” and then click on “Shipping and delivery”. Here you can configure all the important shipping options that are relevant for your store.

In this area, you have the option of defining different shipping zones to determine which countries and regions you would like to deliver to. You can also set up different shipping rates and methods, such as standard shipping or express shipping, depending on the needs of your customers and the products you offer.

If you use multiple warehouses or fulfillment centers, you can define specific rules for different product categories and warehouse locations under “Shipping profiles”. This gives you precise control over how shipping costs are calculated for your customers and which shipping methods are available.

Which shipping service providers can I use?

With Shopify, you have a wide selection of shipping service providers that you can use to ship your products. Choosing the right shipping service provider depends on various factors, such as shipping costs, delivery speed and the regions you deliver to.

With Shopify, you have the option to choose between different shipping service providers such as DHL, DPD, UPS, FedEX and Hermes. All of these service providers offer different shipping options that allow you to offer different delivery speeds and prices to your customers.

To give you a better overview of the different shipping service providers, you will find an overview in this table:

Shopify apps for shipping - our recommendations

Shipeasy

If you are a Shopify merchant in need of a customized shipping solution, the Shipeasy app offers you a flexible and comprehensive solution. The app allows you to set up a variety of advanced shipping rules based on the specific needs of your business. This flexibility allows you to calculate rates by zip code, basket value or product dimensions, for example. The app also offers the ability to create customized rates for wholesale customers or for specific shipping zones. The app is compatible with a variety of shipping carriers such as UPS and DHL.

Pricing:

• Free plan: basic features and access to support via Zoom, email or chat

• Starter: $9.99/month, offers advanced rate calculation based on zip code, distance, cart total, weight and quantity

• Smart: $14.99/month, offers all the features of the Starter plan plus additional options such as product-based rates

• Advanced plan: $24.99/month, includes all the features of the Smart plan as well as carrier-based and dimension-based rates. In addition, this plan allows you to synchronize product meta fields for dimensions, which is especially important for merchants who work with variable package sizes.

ShipperHQ

ShipperHQ is a Shopify app that helps merchants optimize their shipping process through advanced shipping options and rules. With ShipperHQ, merchants can dynamically adjust shipping rates based on various factors such as location, product type, weight, order value or shipping zones. ShipperHQ is ideal for merchants who have complex shipping requirements and need more control over their shipping process.

Pricing:

• Essentials: $75/month, includes 2 carriers

• Starter: $200/month, incl. 4 carriers

• Standard: $350/month, includes 6 carriers

• Advanced: $600/month, incl. 8 carriers

Shippo - Simplified Shipping

Shippo - Simplified Shipping is a Shopify app that helps merchants simplify and optimize their shipping process. With Shippo, merchants can create shipping labels for multiple carriers, track shipments and manage returns, all from one centralized, easy-to-use platform. Shippo is ideal for Shopify merchants looking for a simple, cost-effective and reliable shipping solution without complex setups or additional tools.

Pricing:

• Starter Plan: Free installation, 30 labels per month

• Professional Plan: $19/month, up to 10,000 labels per month

Calculate shipping costs

The calculation of shipping costs is a decisive factor for pricing and the customer experience. There are these types of shipping costs:

• Weight-based costs: shipping costs are calculated based on the total weight of the order. This method is simple, but can vary for different product types.

• Price-based costs: Here the shipping costs are based on the order value, which can be used for incentives such as free shipping above a certain order value.

• Real-time calculation: Shopify offers integration with shipping service providers that allow real-time calculations of shipping costs based on current rates and zones. This can be done via apps such as Easyship or through direct API integrations.

• Flat-rate shipping: A flat-rate shipping fee, regardless of order value or weight, provides clarity for customers, but can be problematic for items of different sizes or weights.

• Free shipping: A popular sales tool, but one that needs to be well calculated so as not to put too much pressure on margins. This can be offered through minimum order values or only for certain products.

To calculate shipping costs, you can use one of the many free tools such as Versandtarif or Jumingo.

How do I set up free shipping with Shopify?

Free shipping is a popular method to increase customer loyalty in the store. You can also easily set up this option with Shopify - either for all orders or from a certain order value.

To set up free shipping, go to “Settings” in the Shopify admin area and then to “Shipping and delivery”. Here you can create a new shipping profile or edit an existing one. First, select the shipping zone for which you want to offer free shipping and add a shipping rate. In the shipping rate settings, you can select “Free shipping” as an option. Make sure that the price is set to “0” to activate free shipping.

If you want to offer free shipping above a certain order value, select the “Add conditions” option when creating the shipping rate. At this point, you can specify a minimum order value from which free shipping applies. For example, you could specify that shipping is free for orders with a value of €80 or more.

By flexibly setting up free shipping options, you can minimize shipping costs for your customers and increase your store's sales figures at the same time. Remember to clearly communicate which conditions apply to free shipping - be it on the homepage, in the shopping cart or during checkout.

Returns management with Shopify

Returns management with Shopify allows merchants to efficiently manage and optimize the returns process for customers, resulting in improved customer satisfaction and more efficient fulfillment. Shopify offers various tools and apps to manage returns, provide return labels and automate the entire process.

Built-in returns processing

Shopify allows merchants to manage returns directly from the Shopify admin area. You can process refunds, accept return requests and monitor the status of returns.

Returns apps

There are numerous apps in the Shopify App Store that are specifically designed for returns management. These apps offer advanced features such as automated return labels, self-service portals for customers, easy refunds and item exchanges. By using returns apps, retailers can provide a self-service portal through which customers can initiate returns simply and easily. This improves the customer experience and reduces support costs.

Our favorite: 8returns

8returns helps retailers to automate and optimize the return and exchange process. The app provides a self-service returns portal for customers to process returns quickly and easily.

Features and benefits:

• Automated returns management: Simplifies the management of returns through automated return labels and processes.

• Self-service portal: Customers can process returns independently via a user-friendly portal, which reduces support costs.

• Flexible return rules: Allows customization of return policies and processes to meet individual business needs.

• Integrated communication: Sends automatic email updates to customers on the status of their returns.

• Increased efficiency: Automates the returns process and saves time and resources.

• Improved customer experience: Simple and transparent handling of returns increases customer satisfaction.

Pricing:

• Basic: $109/month, 100 returns included.

• Advanced: $379/month, 500 returns incl.

Shopify Split Shipping in the checkout

In the Summer Editions 2024, there was also an innovation for Shopify shipping: Since August 30, 2024, all Shopify merchants have access to Split Shipping in the checkout. This feature offers more flexibility and transparency in the shipping process, as merchants who have multiple shipping profiles or locations can now automatically split orders into multiple deliveries.

Split shipping can be activated in the Shopify admin area under “Settings” and “Shipping and delivery”. Further information on this new feature can also be found in the Shopify Help Center.

Split shipping offers decisive advantages for customers and for you as a merchant. Shoppers are informed in the checkout when their order is split into several packages and can see exactly when the various deliveries are expected to arrive. They also have the option to choose an expedited shipping option for each parcel, if available.

An order will be split into multiple deliveries if it contains different types of items that cannot be shipped together. These include:

• Pre-orders

• Subscriptions

• Products from different locations

• Products from different shipping profiles

• Buy with Prime products

For example, if a customer has a pre-order and immediately available products in the shopping cart, the checkout shows that the pre-order will be shipped separately. This gives the customer the opportunity to choose the right shipping option for each delivery.

Conclusion

Optimizing your shipping strategy is essential for the success of your online store, as it can have a significant impact on both customer satisfaction and sales figures. With Shopify, you benefit from a wide range of functions and options that allow you to optimally adapt your shipping to the needs of your company and your customers.