Streamline Your Deliveries with Shopify Local Delivery

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Setting up Locations
   • Checking Fulfillment Options
   • Setting the Primary Fulfillment Location
3. Installing Shopify Local Delivery App
4. Setting up Local Delivery
   • Defining Delivery Area
   • Setting Delivery Charges
   • Adding Delivery Information
5. Customer's Perspective
6. Creating Delivery Lists
   • Adding Orders to Delivery List
   • Optimizing Routes
7. Sharing Delivery Lists with Drivers
8. Driver's Perspective
9. Starting and Completing Deliveries
10. Reviewing Completed Deliveries
11. Conclusion

How to Set Up Local Delivery for Your Online Store

Setting up local delivery for your online store can be a great way to offer convenience to your customers and expand your reach. With the right setup, you can efficiently manage and track local deliveries while providing a seamless experience for both your customers and drivers. In this guide, we'll walk you through the step-by-step process of setting up local delivery for your online store using Shopify. So, let's get started!

1. Introduction

Before we dive into the setup process, let's briefly discuss what local delivery entails and why it can be beneficial for your online business. Local delivery refers to the process of delivering products directly to customers in a specific geographic area, typically within a certain radius of your store's location. This option is particularly useful for businesses that have physical retail locations or warehouses and want to offer a convenient delivery option to their local customers.

2. Setting up Locations

The first step in setting up local delivery is to ensure that your store's locations are properly configured in the Shopify settings. This is crucial for accurate order fulfillment and tracking. Here's how you can do it:

Checking Fulfillment Options

In your store's settings, navigate to the "Locations" section. Here, you'll find a list of all your store's locations, including retail stores and warehouses. Make sure that the location you want to enable local delivery for is selected. Additionally, ensure that the "Fulfill online orders from this location" option is checked. This will allow customers to place online orders for local delivery instead of just in-store pickup.

Setting the Primary Fulfillment Location

To prioritize your warehouse for online orders and avoid stock running out at retail locations, set your warehouse as the primary fulfillment location. On the same "Locations" page, drag your warehouse location to the top of the list and click on "Save." This configuration ensures that online orders are fulfilled from the warehouse first, minimizing stock issues at retail stores.

3. Installing Shopify Local Delivery App

To enable local delivery functionality on your Shopify store, you'll need to install the Shopify Local Delivery app. This app, created by Shopify, is free and provides all the necessary features for managing local deliveries. Follow these steps to install the app:

1. Go to your Shopify admin dashboard and navigate to the "Apps" section.
2. Click on "Visit Shopify App Store."
3. Search for "Shopify Local Delivery" and click on "Add app."
4. Follow the prompts to install the app to your store.

Once the app is installed, you can proceed to set up local delivery.

4. Setting up Local Delivery

Now that you have the Shopify Local Delivery app installed, you can configure the settings for local delivery. These settings include defining the delivery area, setting delivery charges, and adding delivery information. Let's go through each of these steps:

Defining Delivery Area

The first important setting is to define how far you're willing to deliver products from your store's location. You have two options for this: using postal or zip codes to specify regions or setting a delivery radius. To simplify the process, we'll focus on the latter option. Here's how you can do it:

1. In your Shopify admin dashboard, go to "Settings" and click on "Shipping and delivery."
2. Scroll down to find the "Local delivery" section and click on "Manage" for the relevant store location.
3. Check the box that says "This location offers local delivery."
4. Set your desired delivery radius, such as 15 kilometers away from your store's location.

By setting the delivery radius, you'll ensure that customers within the specified range can choose local delivery during checkout.

Setting Delivery Charges

Next, you'll need to determine how much you want to charge customers for local delivery. Shopify allows you to add conditional pricing, which means you can set different delivery costs based on order values. Here's how you can do it:

1. In the same "Local delivery" section, click on "Add conditional pricing."
2. Specify the order range, such as from $0 to $25.
3. Set the corresponding delivery price, such as $5.
4. Optionally, you can set additional conditional pricing for higher order ranges.

By using conditional pricing, you can incentivize larger orders by offering free delivery for orders above a certain amount.

Adding Delivery Information

To provide transparency to your customers, it's crucial to add clear delivery information during the checkout process. This information should include delivery estimates, cutoff times for same-day delivery, and any other relevant details. Here's how you can add delivery information:

1. Still in the "Local delivery" section, scroll down to find the "Delivery information" field.
2. Enter the necessary details, such as cutoff times, delivery windows, and any special instructions.
3. Make sure the provided information is applicable to your business and customers.

Adding comprehensive delivery information ensures that customers are well-informed about the delivery process and expectations.

Once you've completed the setup, click "Save" to apply the local delivery settings to your store.

5. Customer's Perspective

Now, let's take a look at how local delivery appears from the customer's perspective. When a customer adds items to their cart and proceeds to checkout, they will have the option to select local delivery if they are within the defined delivery area. They can then enter their phone number and provide any specific delivery instructions, such as leaving the package at the door. This ensures a smooth and personalized delivery experience for the customer.

6. Creating Delivery Lists

Once you start receiving local delivery orders, you'll need an efficient way to manage and organize them for your drivers. The Shopify Local Delivery app provides a feature called "Delivery Lists" to help you with this. Here's how you can create delivery lists:

1. Open the Shopify Local Delivery app from your Shopify admin dashboard.
2. Click on "Create Delivery List."
3. Select the orders you want to include in the delivery list.
4. Specify the driver and the date of the delivery.
5. Optionally, enable route optimization to save time for your drivers.

By creating delivery lists, you can streamline your delivery process and improve the efficiency of your drivers.

7. Sharing Delivery Lists with Drivers

Once you've created a delivery list, you can easily share it with your drivers. The Shopify Local Delivery app generates a link that you can send to your drivers, allowing them to access all the necessary information for the deliveries. This includes the order details, customer address, and optimized routes if enabled. Sharing a delivery list with your drivers ensures that they have all the information they need to successfully complete the deliveries.

8. Driver's Perspective

For your drivers, the delivery process is straightforward with the Shopify Local Delivery app. Once they receive the delivery list link, they can view the scheduled deliveries and access a map showing the relative locations of each delivery. The app allows them to start the delivery, providing updates to both Shopify and the customer. They can even use Google Maps for directions and contact the customer if necessary. This seamless experience ensures that your drivers can efficiently complete the deliveries while keeping the customers informed.

9. Starting and Completing Deliveries

When your drivers are ready to start a delivery, they can simply click on the "Start" button in the Shopify Local Delivery app. This action notifies Shopify and updates the customer's order status, indicating that the delivery is in progress. Your drivers can then follow the optimized route or directions provided and navigate smoothly through the delivery process. Once the delivery is completed, your drivers can mark it as "Delivered" to indicate successful fulfillment.

10. Reviewing Completed Deliveries

After the deliveries are completed, you can review and track them in your Shopify admin dashboard. The completed delivery orders will be clearly marked, allowing you to keep an organized record. This visibility enables you to monitor the performance of your local delivery operations and ensure customer satisfaction.

11. Conclusion

Setting up local delivery for your online store can significantly enhance the customer experience and boost your business's efficiency. By following the step-by-step process outlined in this guide, you can seamlessly configure local delivery using Shopify's built-in features and the Shopify Local Delivery app. Remember to regularly review and optimize your delivery settings to adapt to changing customer needs and business requirements. With an effective local delivery setup, you'll be able to provide exceptional service to your local customers and drive the success of your online store.