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Selling online is only half the job; the other half is getting the product to the customer safely, quickly and without losing money. For small Indian stores, shipping decisions affect margins, return rates and reviews. Here's a practical guide.
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Your shipping options
1. Shipping aggregators
Examples: Shiprocket, NimbusPost, iThink Logistics, Shipway and others.
Aggregators connect you to many courier companies (Delhivery, Blue Dart, Xpressbees, Ecom Express, DTDC and more) through one dashboard. You compare rates, print labels, schedule pickups and track orders in one place.
- Pros: no minimum volume, multiple couriers, COD remittance, store integrations
- Cons: you depend on the aggregator for disputes; rates may be higher than direct contracts at large volumes
2. Direct courier contracts
Once you ship many orders a month, a direct contract with a courier can lower rates and give you an account manager.
3. India Post
Speed Post and parcel services reach almost every pincode, including remote areas. Useful for low-cost, non-urgent shipments and areas private couriers don't cover well.
4. Local delivery
For same-city orders (bakeries, groceries, gifts), your own staff or a local delivery service may be faster and cheaper.
Understanding courier pricing
- Weight slabs: often in 500 g steps
- Volumetric weight: large but light boxes are charged by size (length × width × height ÷ a divisor set by the courier). Use the smallest box that protects the product.
- Zones: within city, within state, metro to metro, rest of India, special zones (North-East, J&K)
- COD charges: a fixed fee or a percentage of order value
- RTO charges: if an order is returned undelivered, you often pay shipping both ways. See reducing RTO
Setting delivery charges on your store
Common approaches: 1. Free shipping over a threshold (e.g. free above ₹999): raises average order value 2. Flat fee: simple and predictable for customers 3. Weight or zone-based: accurate for heavy or bulky products 4. Built into product price: shows "free shipping" everywhere; works when margins allow
Whatever you choose, show shipping costs before checkout. Surprise charges are a top reason for abandoned carts. See reducing cart abandonment.
Packaging that protects
- Corrugated boxes for fragile items; poly mailers for clothes
- Bubble wrap or paper fill; nothing should move when shaken
- Tamper-evident tape
- An invoice and return instructions inside
- Branded touches (a thank-you card, a sticker) build repeat customers cheaply
Delivery promise and tracking
- State realistic delivery times on product pages ("Usually delivered in 3–6 days")
- Send the tracking link by SMS, email or WhatsApp
- Proactively message customers when there's a delay
Common losses to avoid
- Wrong weight entered, leading to weight dispute charges later
- Oversized boxes increasing volumetric weight
- Shipping COD to unverified addresses
- Not claiming for lost or damaged parcels within the courier's deadline
- No record of packed items (take a quick photo or video of each packed order)
Integration with your website
Your store should send orders to your shipping dashboard automatically, update order status when shipped, and share tracking links. WooCommerce, Shopify and custom stores can all be integrated with major aggregators.
Need an online store with shipping integration? Stores start from ₹12,999. Get in touch.