The 5 Most Common Types of Local Delivery Apps for Shopify Merchants: How to Choose the Right Solution for Your Store

Struggling with local delivery on Shopify? Discover 5 types of local delivery apps to streamline your operations and meet customer demands.

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Fast delivery has become critical for merchant success. Recent research shows that 32% of cart abandonment on Shopify is due to slow delivery times, while retailers who prioritize speedy shipments are experiencing double the growth compared to those who don’t.

So, how can smaller merchants, with limited resources, compete in the world of same-day or same-hour local delivery and in-store pickup?

Thankfully, Shopify merchants have a solution in the form of various local delivery apps that streamline operations. These apps offer different features to boost efficiency and meet customers' high expectations. However, understanding the various app types and their specific purposes may seem overwhelming.

In general, local delivery apps can be categorized into different groups, each coming with strengths and weaknesses:

Time Picker Widgets
Routing Apps
Coverage and Pricing Apps
Third-party delivery company Apps
Comprehensive All-in-One Solutions

In this post, we’ll explore these categories of local delivery apps, providing helpful guidance to Shopify merchants seeking the best solution for their business. We’ll give you the knowledge and insights needed to optimize your delivery operations and meet consumer demand.

Time Picker Widgets

Delivery time picker widgets are simple, lightweight tools that allow consumers to select their preferred delivery window at checkout. This gives customers greater control and freedom to choose when they would like their items to arrive.

Merchants benefit from a more organized and predictable delivery schedule, potentially leading to fewer missed deliveries.

However, these widgets don't manage the logistics of delivery. While they give consumers a sense of control, merchants are still left with the task of fulfilling those deliveries within the selected timeframe. Hence, these are best suited for businesses that already have a reliable delivery mechanism in place.

Coverage and Pricing Apps

Delivery coverage and pricing apps offer a robust solution for merchants seeking to manage delivery zones and set corresponding pricing. These apps help to create efficient and profitable pricing strategies based on geographical zones.

These apps allow more options from Shopify's default pickup and delivery parameters, including custom zones and pricing formulas.

However, they do not provide time or routing management features. Therefore, merchants must complement them with other tools for managing delivery schedules and routes to ensure comprehensive delivery service.

Routing Apps

Delivery routing apps assist merchants by optimizing delivery routes based on factors such as location, traffic, and priority. This ensures that deliveries are made as efficiently as possible, saving both time and fuel costs. The features typically include real-time tracking, proof of delivery, and automated dispatch.

These apps are helpful to manage a large number of deliveries within a local area while understanding what constraints one might have on their drivers, such as their schedules and maximum driving distance.

These apps are valuable for merchants who manage their own delivery fleet but can be superfluous for those who rely on third-party couriers. Moreover, they don't interface with the customer's experience, which may limit their utility for some businesses.

Third-party Delivery Company Apps

Third-party delivery company apps are platforms like Stuart, or Zoom2U that partner with local businesses to handle their delivery operations. They have apps that allow customers to present pricing at checkout from the delivery provider.

However, these apps often charge significant fees and commissions, which can eat into a merchant's profit margins. Additionally, they are typically not fully-featured apps on pickup and delivery, and so you will still need another app to complement them to manage delivery times.

All-in-One Solutions

All-in-one solutions like Nash aim to provide a comprehensive solution for merchants. Nash consolidates aspects of the previous four types of apps: provides delivery time options to consumers, presents pricing and coverage to the end-customer, optimizes delivery routes, and even interfaces with third-party couriers and your internal drivers. Nash also provides customer communications, financial reconciliation, and even customer service when a delivery might go wrong and you need a refund.

Nash allows merchants to simplify their logistics operations to speed up deliveries to customers without paying more in fees vs. standard shipping. At the same time, Nash helps save on fees paid to multiple apps by consolidating into one simple dashboard and widget to manage all delivery operations.

With the ongoing evolution of e-commerce and delivery technology, merchants should continuously reassess their options to ensure they remain competitive in a rapidly changing landscape. One way to do so is to match or beat the customer delivery proposition of large retailers that offer rapid delivery while accelerating delivery timelines.