Delivery fees are the top reason customers abandon carts. How to split your zones, price delivery, and use free shipping to raise order value rather than cut your margin.
A customer who fills a cart and then sees an unexpected delivery fee usually leaves without a word. Delivery isn't a detail after the sale — it's part of the buying decision.
Split your service into zones
- Within the city: a low flat fee, or by district in large cities.
- Nearby cities: a higher fee and longer time.
- Distant regions: through a courier at its real rate.
- Store pickup: free, and many customers love it.
How to price delivery
Work out your real cost per zone: the courier's fee, packaging, and your share of returns. Then decide whether to pass it all on, or absorb part of it quietly in the product price. What matters most is that customers see the final total before sending the order.
Free delivery over a threshold
Set the threshold a little above your current average order. If the average cart is 80, make delivery free over 100: many customers add a small item to qualify, and order value rises by more than the delivery cost.
Cash on delivery without losses
- Confirm the order on WhatsApp before shipping.
- Ask for a transfer deposit on large or made-to-order items.
- Note customers who repeatedly refuse delivery.
- State the expected delivery time for each zone.
Customers don't mind paying for delivery; they mind being surprised by it.
On RVIOS Store you create delivery zones with their fees and a free-delivery threshold, and customers see the full total in the cart before sending.