Shipping Methods
A shipping method is one delivery option, defined between two countries.
Where to find it
Architect Panel → Commercial:
- Carts — the cart itself and its options
Architect Panel → Data:
- Datastores — then View Data on the cart table, and look for the row actions
What a method carries
- Sender and recipient country — the route it covers.
- Shipping company and service name — what the customer sees.
- Minimum and maximum delivery days — the promise.
- Default price and currency.
- Weight tiers enabled — whether price varies by weight.
- Tracking URL prefix — so a tracking number becomes a link.
Routes, not destinations
The sender country matters as much as the recipient. It is what allows a shop with warehouses in two countries to offer different methods and prices depending on where the stock is — which is why warehouse country is a shipping decision as much as a stock one.
Delivery days are a promise
Customers read the range as a commitment and complain against it. Set it to what your carrier actually achieves rather than what their marketing says, and prefer a range you beat to one you meet occasionally.
The tracking prefix pays for itself
A tracking number that is a link removes a large share of "where is my order" contacts. Set it once per carrier; the effort is minutes and the saving is continuous.
Keep the list short
Two or three options per route. A checkout offering seven delivery services makes the customer do work they did not want, and they usually pick the cheapest anyway.
The useful shape is a standard option, a faster one, and collection if you offer it.
Price it honestly
Shipping priced below cost is a discount you did not budget for, and it grows with volume. Shipping priced well above cost is the most common reason for basket abandonment.
Know what each method actually costs you before setting the price.
Weight tiers, cut-offs and holidays hang off the method
Each is a row action on the method itself. That is where the pricing detail and the date calculation live, and it is easy to configure a method and never look at them.
Test every route you enable
A method defined for a route you do not actually ship is a method a customer will choose. Check what routes your shop currently offers against what you can genuinely fulfil.
Worked example
A shop offers standard and next-day from its domestic warehouse and a single economy method from its European one, each with tracking prefixes set. Delivery ranges were set a day wider than the carrier’s stated service, which turned late deliveries into on-time ones.
Recommendations
- Two or three methods per route.
- Set delivery days to what you achieve, not what is advertised.
- Set the tracking prefix — it removes contact volume.
- Check every route is one you actually ship.