Shopify Local Delivery: How to Set It Up and Who Drives the Orders
How to set up Shopify local delivery: zones by radius or postal code, minimum orders and pricing, the free route app, and how to hand the driving to a courier.
Shopify local delivery lets a store offer delivery to nearby customers at checkout, using zones you draw by distance or postal code, with your own delivery price and minimum order for each zone. Shopify doesn’t supply drivers. In its words, “you can choose to have you or your staff deliver orders, or use a third-party delivery service” (Shopify Help Center).
This guide covers the setup, the limits on zones and prices, the free route-planning app, and the part Shopify leaves to you: getting someone to drive.
Key takeaways
- Turn it on per location under Settings > Shipping and delivery > Local delivery.
- Each location can have up to 10 delivery zones, drawn by radius (up to 100 miles) or by postal codes.
- Each zone gets its own delivery price, optional minimum order, and up to 3 extra price rules by order value.
- Shopify’s free Local Delivery app plans routes of up to 100 stops, but someone still has to drive them.
- Price each zone from what a delivery to its far edge costs you, not from what feels fair.
How do you set up Shopify local delivery?
The setting lives under each store location (Shopify Help Center):
- In the Shopify admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery, then Local delivery under additional delivery methods.
- Pick the location that orders will leave from.
- Turn on Deliver orders to customers directly from this location.
- Add one or more delivery zones, and give each a delivery price and an optional minimum order.
If you sell from a shop and a separate kitchen or studio, set up local delivery on the location the orders actually leave from. The radius is measured from there.
How do delivery zones work?
Each zone is drawn one of two ways (Shopify Help Center):
| Method | How it works | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery radius | Delivery within a set distance from your location | Up to 160 km or 100 miles. It doesn’t cross into other countries. |
| Postal codes | A list of codes, separated by a comma and a space. A prefix with an asterisk, such as M5V*, matches a group. |
Up to 3,000 characters per list |
The other limits:
- Up to 10 delivery zones per location
- Up to 3 conditional pricing rules per zone, each setting a different delivery charge by order value
- If a customer’s address falls in more than one zone, Shopify charges the lowest delivery price that applies
That last rule matters when zones overlap. If you draw a cheap 3-mile zone inside a pricier 8-mile one, the overlap gets the cheaper price, which is what you want. If you draw two postal-code zones that share a code at different prices, the customer gets the lower one.
Radius or postal codes?
A radius is quick to set up but ignores roads, rivers, and traffic. Five miles across a bridge can take longer than ten miles of highway. Postal codes take longer to list, but let you leave out an area that’s close on the map and slow to reach. Our guide to delivery radius and delivery zones works through how to draw them from drive time.
What should you charge for local delivery?
Each zone takes two numbers (Shopify Help Center):
- Minimum order price (optional): local delivery appears only for orders above it.
- Delivery price: enter 0 for free delivery.
Conditional pricing adds up to three tiers by order value, so you can charge less, or nothing, on larger orders.
Start from your cost, not from competitors. Price a delivery to the far edge of each zone in the delivery cost calculator, and set the zone’s delivery price, minimum order, or both so a typical order still makes money after that delivery.
| Zone | What to set |
|---|---|
| Inner zone, short drives | A low delivery price, or free above a modest order value |
| Middle zone | A delivery price close to your cost for that distance |
| Outer zone | A higher delivery price and a minimum order, or leave it out |
What does the Shopify Local Delivery app do?
Shopify publishes a free Local Delivery app. Its listing says it offers “automatic or manual route planning for your drivers for up to 100 stops,” sends customers automated delivery status emails, shows drivers the customer’s delivery instructions, and syncs order status back to the Shopify admin (Shopify App Store). Drivers navigate with their phone’s default map app. The listing doesn’t mention photo proof of delivery.
You have to set up local delivery in the admin before the app will work.
At checkout, customers can add delivery instructions and must enter a phone number. The optional delivery information you write for a zone appears in the order confirmation email, not at checkout (Shopify Help Center).
Who actually delivers Shopify local delivery orders?
You decide. Shopify gives three options in practice:
| Option | Works best when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| You or your staff | A handful of orders a day, close to the shop | Every hour driving is an hour not making or selling |
| Your own hired driver | A full route every day | Wages, a vehicle, and insurance whether or not the route is full |
| A courier service | Volume that changes by day or season, or delivery days you schedule in advance | You need to send the courier the day’s orders |
Our guide to in-house delivery drivers versus a courier service works through what one driver and one van cost a year.
Shopify notes that third-party shipping apps may conflict with its local delivery method, so test checkout after you install any app that touches delivery.
How to use a courier with Shopify local delivery
Most stores that hand off delivery settle into a routine like this:
- Set a cut-off. For example, orders placed by 2 p.m. go out the next morning. Put it in the zone’s delivery information so it reaches customers in their confirmation email.
- Batch the orders. At the cut-off, export or list that day’s local delivery orders with addresses, phone numbers, and instructions.
- Book one route. A multi-stop route sends one courier through every drop-off in an order that makes sense on the map. Our guide to planning a multi-stop delivery route covers how stops are sequenced.
- Pass on tracking. Send customers the tracking link, and keep the photo taken at each drop-off in case one goes missing.
- Mark orders fulfilled in Shopify once the route is done.
For a fixed delivery day, such as weekly meal prep or Saturday flowers, book the route as a recurring pickup so a courier is on the calendar without a new request each week. Our guide to scheduled versus on-demand delivery explains when each fits.
We run scheduled, recurring, and same-day routes for stores in 100 US metro areas, including a courier service in Portland, Denver, and Columbus. Every stop has live tracking and a photo at drop-off. See our bakery delivery service and florist delivery service, or price a route in the delivery cost calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Shopify provide drivers for local delivery?
No. Shopify’s help center says you can deliver orders yourself or with your staff, or use a third-party delivery service (Shopify).
What is the maximum local delivery radius on Shopify?
160 km or 100 miles, and the radius doesn’t extend into other countries.
How many delivery zones can I have on Shopify?
Up to 10 per location. Each zone can have up to 3 conditional pricing rules by order value.
Can I offer free local delivery on Shopify?
Yes. Enter 0 as the zone’s delivery price, or use conditional pricing to make delivery free above an order value.
Is the Shopify Local Delivery app free?
Yes. It’s made by Shopify and plans automatic or manual routes of up to 100 stops (Shopify App Store).
What happens if a customer is in two delivery zones?
Shopify charges the lowest delivery price that applies.
The Bottom Line
Shopify local delivery handles the storefront side well: up to 10 zones per location, a price and minimum for each, and a free app that plans routes of up to 100 stops. It doesn’t drive. Decide who does before you switch it on, price each zone from what its farthest delivery costs you, and set a cut-off so orders arrive in batches you can route. To see what a route from your shop would cost, use the delivery cost calculator.
