How to Create Shipping Policy on Shopify
Last updated: November 22 2024
Did you know that nearly 50% of online shoppers are unlikely to return if they have a poor shipping experience? That’s why a solid Shopify shipping policy is crucial. It not only fosters trust but also clarifies your shipping processes and addresses customer concerns.
In this article, we’ll explore the importance of a shipping policy, what key elements to include, and how to add the shipping policy to your Shopify store. We will also showcase some shipping policy examples/ templates from successful stores to inspire your own policy creation.
What is the Shipping policy?
A shipping policy outlines how an online store handles order deliveries. It covers key details such as shipping zones, shipping costs, delivery times, legal requirements, packaging guidelines, and tracking options, giving customers a clear idea of what to expect after they make a purchase.
This policy helps minimize misunderstandings, enhances trust, and ensures that customers feel informed. While there's no one-size-fits-all shipping policy, clearly presenting essential information can greatly enhance the shopping experience for your customers.
Why do you need a shipping policy on your Shopify store?
Make Your Online Store Legit and Trustable
A clear, understandable shipping policy openly demonstrates that an ecommerce store is legitimate, reliable, and transparent - essential for building trust. It helps potential customers visualize the delivery process before they buy.
Being upfront about shipping times and procedures in the policy can significantly increase conversion rates, with transparency converting up to 47% of customers into repeat buyers. When shoppers know what to expect from an order regarding shipping and delivery, they are far more likely to purchase confidently and return to shop again.
A well-communicated shipping policy establishes a baseline level of trust that provides a significant competitive edge.
Improve Customer Loyalty
A thorough shipping policy on your ecommerce site nudges new customers to complete purchases. What may be less apparent is that continuously refining your Shopify shipping policy page and tactics improves customer loyalty and repeat business.
Effectively communicating your shipping procedures builds trust and reassurance for buyers. But it’s also crucial to consistently optimize the behind-the-scenes fulfillment process to match or exceed expectations set by the policy.
Updating shipping standards and communication helps determine whether a first-time customer becomes a returning client. Nurturing loyalty means always striving to enhance the shipping experience through clear policies and reliable execution.
Provide important shipping information
Most online shoppers need to know important shipping information on your store, and they often search for a shipping policy to find out more about the cost. So, it is necessary to provide them a well-developed shopping policy so that they can calculate how much it is going to cost them based on their location. Also, your customers are also able to know the shipping options that are currently available before they decide to order.
As a result, when you show your shipping costs and your current methods of shipping available, it is more likely that you can avoid having your customers complaining about the unexpected payment that they have to charge. Plus, you can save yourself an amount of time without having to answer questions from customers about your shipping information because your buyers can find it themselves.
Provide other store’s policies
Normally, a store’s policy includes more than just shipping details, it contains other information, like the policy of returning and exchanging, product damages, and international shipping expectations and many more. So, with this shipping policy on Shopify, it is also a great way to inform your customers of this helpful information about your store’s other policies.
Inform delivery time
Fast delivery is always preferred by online shoppers. So, when they pay an amount of money, they deserve to know where their orders are, and what are their delivery times. So, shipping policy is what that displays your shipping options, as well as inform your customers in case there are shipping cutoff times, also the transit times, and so on.
What to include when writing a Shipping policy?
Overall, you should make your shipping policy in the most concise way as possible. At the same time, it should be thorough in highlighting essential shipping information that you want your customers to notice such as every detail about the expected delivery times, shipping costs, shipping methods, payment information, and many more.
Shipping information
Most online shoppers need to know important shipping information about your store, and they often search for a shipping policy to find out more about the cost. So, it is necessary to provide them with a well-developed shopping policy so that they can calculate how much it will cost them based on their location.
Also your customers are also able to know the shipping options that are currently available before they decide to order.
As a result, when you show your shipping costs and your current methods of shipping available, you can avoid having your customers complain about the unexpected payment they have to charge. Plus, you can save time without answering customer questions about your shipping information because your buyers can find it themselves.
Shipping restriction
Various online retailers can have differing abilities to ship items. Concisely mentioning shipping limitations in the company policies section adds credibility with possible customers.
For example, putting a list of locations where shipping is available allows people to check if their address falls within the geographic areas the store delivers to. Clearly stating shipping rules up front provides transparency and helps customers understand if they can receive orders from that particular online store.
Insurance optional
When you sell one crucial product that costs a considerable amount of money, ensure its deliveries cover the cost of damage, theft, or misplacements if necessary. For some relatively low-value products, some people might hesitate to charge a premium for insurance. So, you should provide the optional Parcel insurance at checkout for customers to see so that you will not have to worry during your costly deliveries.
Returns and Refund
Returning is inevitable, and customers often consider refunding before making an order. So, as online store owners, you should start showing your return and exchange policy on the same page as the shipping policy so that your buyers will see some details they care about. For example, how long it takes to process a return. Ideally, consider presenting your return periods as a standard table chart to inform your customers as clearly as possible about your policy.
International Shipping
A business should explicitly explain its international shipping processes if it ships globally. This part of the policies would detail who facilitates international deliveries, whether customers or the company covers import taxes or customs duties, and who bears responsibility for additional fees associated with overseas shipping.
Providing transparency around how international orders are handled, including which freight companies partner to ship abroad and who pays extra costs, gives customers clear expectations when ordering from other countries.
Prices and Methods
Your customers deserve to know the prices of their shipping service so that they can have a chance to review and calculate their total costs before deciding to buy. Also, you should care about displaying the shipping costs as it means a lot for international customers - those who are qualified for some advantages, like free shipping, for example.
Together with the prices, the method is what you need to inform your customers. You will be able to provide one or several shipping methods, so make sure that you have listed them out, and remember to include the expected delivery times for each.
Shipping times
Shipping times are essential for setting clear customer expectations and reducing any confusion about order deliveries. By stating your average processing and shipping times and specifying the differences in delivery speeds—like standard, expedited, or express—you help customers plan around their delivery needs.
It’s also helpful to note any peak seasons or holidays that might affect timing or cause shipping delays. For example, you could offer next-day shipping for orders placed before 2 PM in the U.S. and standard shipping with estimated times of 5-7 days for international orders.
Order Tracking
When shopping online, a significant 98% of e-commerce customers prefer tracking their packages for delivery updates. Order tracking gives customers peace of mind by letting them monitor their order’s progress. Mention when and how they’ll receive tracking information—whether via email, text, or a dedicated tracking page.
You also should clarify which carriers you use and whether real-time tracking is available, and provide support contact information if updates are delayed. Custom shipping policies for accessing tracking details ensure customers can easily find updates on their own
How to create Shopify Shipping Policy | Step-by-step guide
Here’s a quick guide for adding a shipping policy to your Shopify store, based on my previous experience of implementing the action with my own online shop:
Step 1: Log into Shopify Admin
- Go to Online Store > Settings.
Step 2: Create the Shipping Policy
- Scroll down to Policies and select Shipping Policy. Write your policy directly or paste it into the box provided.
Step 3: Save and Display
- Click Save. Preview and edit your content if necessary.
- For easy access, link the policy in your site’s main menu, footer, or product pages.
Shopify Shipping policy page templates and examples
Real Shipping Policy page Examples (update)
MFMG Shipping Policy Page
The MFMG shipping policy page uses frequently asked questions to clearly outline shipping details such as timeframes for delivery, how orders are processed, associated costs, return policies, and payment options. By structuring the policy page as a set of questions and answers, MFMG makes important logistical details easy for customers to find, demonstrating their commitment to transparency regarding order fulfillment and customer service.
Package Free Shipping Policy Page
The Package Free store is an environmentally-focused online retailer that aims to reduce waste by selling unpackaged personal care and household goods. Their Shopify shipping policy page also takes a question-and-answer approach to presenting logistics details in an easy-to-digest manner.
Shipping information can be found clearly through the footer links. FAQs cover topics such as free shipping qualifications, how items are shipped without excess packaging materials, typical delivery timeframes, and specifics regarding international order fulfillment.
Adopting a similar question format provides customers quick access to critical aspects of the shipping process in a transparent way that aligns with this brand’s sustainable objectives.
Hiut Denim Shipping Policy Page
Ecommerce businesses often have differing shipping capabilities. Including a brief overview of any shipping limitations directly on the policy page establishes credibility with prospective customers.
For example, providing a list of serviceable shipping locations lets buyers quickly determine if their address falls within the stated geographical restrictions. Clearly outlining parameters like which countries or regions merchandise can be delivered gives visitors transparent information to self-assess shipping viability based on location.
Communicating shipping constraints in a clear, upfront manner builds trust by managing customer expectations and avoiding post-purchase issues caused by undisclosed restrictions.
Terre Bleu Shipping Policy Page
Terre Bleu is an ecommerce store in Ontario that exclusively offers lavender-based goods. Their shipping and returns policy succinctly communicates crucial logistical information to customers.
The policy outlines Terre Bleu’s shipping limitations, expected handling timeline, and steps for completing an authorized return. Terre Bleu maintains transparency with buyers by stating their current parameters upfront regarding restrictions, processing windows, and return instructions.
This allows customers to set appropriate expectations for delivery and returns, thus building customer confidence in Terre Bleu’s fulfillment operations.
Bailly Shipping Policy Page
Bailly is an ecommerce beauty brand that primarily ships vegan perfumes made with natural oils to destinations within North America. Their refund policy page prominently states this primary shipping region limitation.
Additional logistical details clearly outlined include order processing timeframes, instructions for tracking shipments, and return guidelines. Customers can find more specifics around typical delivery timelines and free shipping qualifications in Bailly’s frequently asked questions section.
By transparently communicating its core fulfillment parameters related to shipping coverage and returns handling, Bailly establishes trust by openly managing customer expectations.
Examples of Real Shopify Shipping Policy Templates (update)
Toy Theme Shipping Policy Template
Using a toy-themed Shopify theme, this shipping policy template provides comprehensive transparency around returns and refund procedures. It outlines which items cannot be returned, associated return shipping fees, validity windows for returns, and refund processing details. While concentrated primarily on returns specifics, it briefly summarizes key logistical shipping aspects.
These include delineating responsibility for return shipping costs and expected timeframes for exchanges. By prominently prioritizing returns guidelines with supporting shipping clarification, the template establishes a framework for customers to understand their post-purchase rights while setting upfront expectations for associated fulfillment aspects.
Vibrant Theme Shipping Policy Template
Drawing from the Shopify theme’s vibrant aesthetic, this policy template offers a condensed yet informative overview. While brief, it contains the vital logistical points customers need to reference.
Specifics include shipping restrictions or limitations, typical delivery time estimates, responsibility for shipping costs, and instructions for initiating authorized returns. By prioritizing brevity but ensuring the inclusion of facets like restrictions, timing, fees, and returns guidance, the template effectively communicates the essential policy highlights in a clear, digestible manner.
Even with brevity, transparency around a store’s core fulfillment expectations is maintained. This balanced approach keeps customers informed without compromising engagement through an overly lengthy document.
Pantry Theme Shipping Policy Template
The shipping policy template based on the pantry Shopify theme takes a brief, straightforward approach. The key details are prominently displayed in the footer of the homepage for maximum visibility.
The brief content details the most vital logistical specifics upfront, such as the store’s serviceable shipping destinations and applicable shipping windows. By prioritizing only the essential shipping parameters in a prominent yet compact format, this template promotes immediate transparency on limitations while maintaining engagement through brevity.
Although sparse, it allows customers quick access to core fulfillment expectations directly on the site without overloading visitors with excessive content.
Fashion Theme Shipping Policy Template
Shopify shipping policy Templates
On the whole, the one below is one template that I think can be applied on most Shipping Information Page Template:
- Introduction: “At [enter you Shop Name], our goal is to provide you the best shipping options, no matter where you are. Our mission every day is to deliver to hundreds of customers across the world, and make sure that you deserve the most quality levels of responsiveness at any times”
- Details: Write every details about your Domestic Shipping Policy, International Shipping Policy and also Returns Policy. Remember to include the information that refers to:
- Shipment processing time
- Shipping rates & delivery estimates
- Shipment to P.O. boxes or APO/FPO addresses
- Shipment confirmation & Order tracking
- Customs, Duties and Taxes
- Damages.
Then, you should focus on editing the time frame for order delivery, which should be divided into two parts:
- Processing time: In this part, you should include your order verification, tailoring, quality check and packaging.
For example: All orders should be sent to the manufacturer for dispatch no longer than 24 hours after the order is placed. - Shipping time: In this part, you should make it focus on the time that it takes to ship items from our warehouse to the destination. For example: In the U.S, the orders are usually shipped by e-packet, which is a US Postal Service product. When items have already been processed and left the warehouse, they will be transported between 7 and 14 days to arrive at their destination.
FAQs
Conclusion
I have introduced you to everything you need to know to establish and implement a quality shipping policy in your online store. In my opinion, you should create a transparent shipping policy with detailed shipping FAQs and real-time carrier rates to promote repeat purchases and boost customer loyalty effectively.
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