Ecommerce Methods of Shipment: Everything You Need to Know

Setting up product shipping comes with several important choices. You need to factor in carrier options, rates, and the speed of delivery. But first, you should familiarize yourself with the standard methods of shipment for ecommerce.

To figure that out, you must consider:

Product size: What are the dimensions and weight?
Product type: Are you shipping perishable goods? Are you shipping regulated products? Can they get easily damaged?
Destination: Are most of your customers ordering from overseas or locally? Are these difficult to get to places?
Your business location: Do all the carriers pick up from your location? Can you partner with a regional carrier for lower costs for nearby customers?
Pricing: All carriers and shipment methods have different pricing, and you must also factor in additional costs like label printing and store integrations.

All of these elements come into play when choosing a method of shipment for ecommerce products. They also dictate the overall shipping time, carrier options, and price for shipping.

With those things in mind, keep reading to learn about the different methods of shipment, along with carriers for you to pick.

What are the main #shipping methods in #ecommerce? 🚚🚚 Everything you need to know

Click To Tweet

The different methods of shipment

For each method of shipment in ecommerce, we’ll explain:

General price 💰
Speed 🏎️
Logistics 🚊

This way, you have a stronger idea of which one(s) to select.

Flat-rate shipping

Often hailed as the fallback option for ecommerce, flat-rate shipping provides the simplest setup and potential for savings.

It’s rather easy to understand: carriers charge one preset amount for qualifying packages or box sizes instead of calculating the full rate from scratch for every order. The exact rules vary by carrier, package, and destination, so flat-rate shipping usually works best when your products fit within those service limits.

Pros

Less configuration and headache trying to charge the exact amount to ship products. Customers pay one rate every time.
If your products are similar (same size and weight) and shipping distances remain short, you should be able to calculate a flat rate that’s almost perfect to cover carrier costs.
As long as your flat rate is close enough to the average carrier cost, it’s okay if customers occasionally pay a little less or more for shipping.
Works well for standardized product lines.

Cons

It can be more cost-efficient to use another method if you sell large or oddly shaped products.
Expanding your product line means more variety in size, so the flat-rate system doesn’t work as well.
Carrier rules for flat-rate services can be restrictive, particularly for oversized items or certain destinations.

This method of shipment is best for:

Smaller, startup businesses, or any type of ecommerce store with similarly sized products. This way, you’re able to pick a qualifying flat-rate option from the carrier and stick to the simplicity of that system.

Real-time carrier rates

Diagram illustrating real-time carrier-calculated shipping rates

An alternative to flat-rate shipping—and potentially the most modern option—is called real-time carrier rates. This method of shipment is offered through many apps for WooCommerce, Shopify’s native shipping tools, and other platforms, where the software links to carriers like FedEx and UPS to deliver an immediate, and accurate, shipping rate.

This means you never overpay or underpay for shipping. Not to mention, you’re able to show multiple shipping types to the customer based on what’s delivered by the calculator.

Pros

You get the most accurate rates without having to make your own calculations.
Merchants generally save money.
Customers typically save money.
Customers receive several shipment types to choose.
You can tap into rates from multiple carriers, essentially allowing you to shop around for shipping.

Cons

You typically must pay for an app or extension on your ecommerce platform to activate real-time carrier rates, unless your platform includes them natively.
You’ll be working with a more complex system when compared to flat-rate shipping.
It requires a wider range of packaging materials.
You may have to work with multiple carriers, making the process even more complicated.
Customers typically won’t have any idea about shipping costs until they start the checkout process. That is, you can’t advertise your shipping prices upfront like you can with flat rates because each shipping rate needs to be calculated based on the shopper’s final order.

Best for:

Growing businesses with the need for absolute precision in their shipping rates. It’s also excellent as you expand the product line for your store, since you’re not limited by the size of your products.

Standard shipping (ground)

Although the definition of standard shipping varies from carrier to carrier, it tends to involve ground shipping that’s affordable and gets products to customers within a few business days, depending on the destination and service level.

Pros

An economical choice for merchants.
Gives customers affordability, decent accuracy, and reasonable speed.
All carriers have some form of standard shipping.
The wider timeframe estimates make for fewer issues and complaints.
It’s one of the easier methods for offering free shipping.

Cons

Some customers may need faster shipping, or guaranteed delivery times, making it less useful for those situations.

Best for:

The vast majority of ecommerce sellers, at least as a starting method that’s complemented by other options like expedited or local shipping.

International shipping

Illustration of international ecommerce shipping routes

To reach more customers, online stores may opt to offer international shipping to customers, but it all depends on whether your carrier offers that. So, we suggest partnering with a carrier that allows for international shipping, even if you don’t intend to use it yet.

In addition, international shipping comes with a variety of expenses and roadblocks, like taxes, regulations, and tariffs. That’s why it’s important to find a carrier with experience and seamless processes for cutting out the need for you to deal with these.

Pros

It expands your selling potential to customers in other countries.
There are reliable carriers that let you turn on international shipping when you require it.

Cons

There are more expenses and complications, like trade laws, taxes, and regulations.
You will most likely have to pass some, or all, of the extra costs to the customer.
It makes for a more complicated shipping process, which may not be suitable for smaller brands.

Best for:

Scaling stores in transition and looking for new revenue streams. The major carriers, like FedEx and DHL, are experts at international shipping so, as long as you have the resources for the upgrade, it should result in a boost in profits.

Local delivery or pickup

Local delivery means that your carrier provides a shipping method that’s cheaper and faster for locals. The carrier then lets you choose a boundary cutoff for where you must live to get this type of shipment.

As an alternative, you may consider bringing products to local customers yourself, but that requires a logistical setup and your own vehicles. Finally, there’s the option to have local pickup as a delivery option, which is nice because it’s free, and it prompts customers to visit your store (if you own a retail shop).

Pros

It makes for a cheaper shipping option for merchants and local customers.
Locals may become loyal to your brand.
It’s much easier to offer free shipping with this method, or you have the option to do local pickup which, again, gives customers a price break.
Many major and regional carriers offer some sort of local shipping method.

Cons

Some carriers don’t offer local shipping, or any special discount for it.
It makes for a slightly more complex shipping configuration, since you might have to work with an extra regional carrier.

Best for:

Stores with an all-local, or partially local, customer base. It’s especially useful for stores managing their own local warehouses or retail shops.

Expedited shipping

Expedited shipping is a general term for faster shipping methods when compared to standard shipping.

Reputable carriers offer multiple forms of expedited shipping, where the packages spend less time at stops.

Merchants can use expedited shipping as an add-on method for customers who want their packages a little quicker. The “expedited” term takes the pressure off your business to meet specific demands, like “next day” or “overnight” shipping.

Pros

Provides a general term for faster shipping that tells customers they’ll get products earlier than usual, but without promising a specific date.
The main carriers all offer some sort of expedited shipping.
It provides an extra shipping option for customers to choose.
It can reduce shopping cart abandonment, especially if your shipments usually take a long time.
Popular with customers who buy internationally, since it gives them a more reasonable shipping timeframe.

Cons

You may have to shop around for expedited shipping, since rates vary drastically by carrier.

This method of shipment is best for:

Just about any online store that would like to cut back on cart abandonment, while giving customers more shipping options. But remember, this is a complementary method, not a replacement to standard shipping.

Overnight ecommerce shipping

Overnight shipping is a form of expedited shipping with specific phrasing.

It tells the merchant, and customer, that they can expect delivery one business day after the order was placed. Some stipulations typically apply, like having to place the order before a certain time.

Much like expedited or same-day delivery, overnight shipping isn’t your only shipping method, but rather an alternative to standard shipping.

Pros

Has more specific wording than “expedited,” giving the customer peace of mind.
It’s the most logistically reasonable “fast” method, seeing as how same-day delivery often requires a special carrier or your own delivery system.
Most major carriers offer an overnight option.
Overnight shipping works well if urgency is required, like if you sell materials to contractors, or for last-minute gifts.

Cons

It’s far more expensive.
It may add some complexity and, perhaps, complaints from customers who miss the overnight deadline.

Best for:

Shops with customers who are willing to pay for overnight shipping (because they consistently need it).

You may find, for example, that you have many B2B or international customers with overnight shipping needs.

Same day shipping

The premise behind same-day delivery is simple: A customer orders and expects a delivery on the same day, usually needing to meet a deadline for a guarantee. Like expedited and overnight shipping, this is a complementary method for standard shipping.

Pros

Customers can get their products on the same day.
The merchant gains a strong advantage against competitors.
It’s an easy sell in your marketing.
There are a few major carriers that offer same-day delivery.

Cons

Not all the major carriers offer same-day delivery.
It adds extra stress to your inventory and fulfillment management.
It increases your risk of customer support complaints, for warranted and unwarranted claims.
Same-day delivery is expensive.
It’s often limited by location, like for customers in major metropolitan areas.

Best for:

Brands in high competition industries where same-day shipping may be warranted for a competitive advantage. Otherwise, you can remain competitive with one of the less demanding expedited methods.

Best ecommerce carriers (and their methods of shipment)

The methods of shipment you choose depend on your carrier. You may pick a combination of carriers (to get the cheapest/fastest shipping every time), or it’s possible one carrier works best (for simplicity and easier tracking).

In this section, we outline the major carriers and which methods of ecommerce shipment they provide.

UPS
FedEX
DHL
USPS

UPS

UPS works best for medium to large packages, but it’s great for just about every type of shipping, from overnight to international.

Shipping methods

Ground shipping (transit time depends on the destination and zone)
Overnight shipping (next business day)
International shipping
Flat-rate shipping for qualifying domestic U.S. shipments

How to integrate with your ecommerce platform

WooCommerce: UPS Shipping Method extension, WooCommerce UPS Shipping plugin
Shopify: Shopify Shipping and carrier-calculated rates for eligible stores, or with a multi-carrier app like PluginHive or ShipStation

FedEX

FedEx does it all, from international to domestic shipping. It’s also one of the few global carriers with a well established same-day delivery program.

Shipping methods

Ground shipping (transit time varies by service and destination)
Flat-rate
International
Overnight
Same-day

How to integrate with your ecommerce platform

WooCommerce: FedEx Shipping Method, or a multi-carrier plugin like PluginHive.
Shopify: Shopify Shipping and carrier-calculated rates for eligible stores, or a multi-carrier app from PluginHive or ShipStation

DHL

DHL Express and ecommerce parcel shipping services

DHL specializes in affordable international shipping. In ecommerce, it’s usually best to think of DHL in terms of DHL Express and DHL eCommerce / parcel solutions, with delivery speed depending on the product and destination.

Shipping methods

Parcel and economy shipping (transit time depends on the service and destination)
Expedited
International
Same-day

How to integrate with your ecommerce platform

WooCommerce: DHL Parcel for WooCommerce, or a maintained multi-carrier tool
Shopify: Shopify Shipping where available, or the Post & DHL Shipping app

USPS

USPS is technically a US (domestic) carrier, but it actually offers global shipping through its many partners. It’s best for US-based stores, and although not as fast as UPS or FedEx, you can almost always expect the best rates.

Shipping methods

Ground Advantage for economical ground shipping
Priority Mail for faster domestic shipping
Priority Mail Express for next-day to 2-day delivery where available
International

How to integrate with your ecommerce platform

WooCommerce: USPS Shipping Method extension, Stamps.com, ELEX USPS Shipping
Shopify: Shopify Shipping and carrier-calculated rates for eligible stores, Stamps.com

Regional and domestic carriers

There are hundreds of regional and domestic carriers that are helpful for stores with local shipping needs.

Some larger domestic carriers have their own extensions for ecommerce platforms, such as:

Canada Post: WooCommerce
Australia Post: WooCommerce, Shopify
Royal Mail: WooCommerce, Shopify

If there’s no standalone app, it’s best to opt for a multi-carrier shipping app; this way, you gain access to most global and domestic providers, and can switch between carriers when necessary. Shopify merchants should also consider Shopify Shipping first, since it covers many common shipping workflows before you need an outside app.

Apps to connect your store with multiple carriers

Shippo: 85+ major and regional carriers.
ShipStation: 100s of platforms and sales channels, along with around 60 carriers.
Shopify Shipping: A native option for many Shopify stores that supports common carriers and carrier-calculated shipping workflows.
PluginHive: Multiple ecommerce platform plugins with support for dozens of carriers.

For WooCommerce stores, note that WooCommerce Shipping is primarily useful for label creation with supported carriers. If you need live checkout rates, you’ll usually want a carrier-specific extension or a maintained multi-carrier tool instead.

Go to top