Setting up backup shipping rates
If your shipping rates are calculated by a third party service, such as a shipping carrier or shipping app, then occasionally the third party can experience downtime or can't return shipping rates fast enough. When this happens, shipping rates won't display at the checkout and your customers can't complete their order.
If no rates are returned from the third-party, then your backup shipping rates display. As a result, your customers can still check out and continue their order, instead of having to abandon their order due to unavailable shipping rates.
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Considerations for backup shipping rates
Shopify-powered backup shipping rates are activated in your Shopify store by default for all delivery profiles and shipping zones that contain third-party shipping rates. If the default backup rates don't meet your business needs, then you can customize the backup shipping rates using order value or item weight conditions. Backup shipping rates are mandatory when you're relying on a third party to calculate shipping rates at checkout.
When an order uses a backup shipping rate, a banner displays on the order’s page in your Shopify admin and indicates that a backup rate was used, and which third party failed to provide any shipping rates.
Shopify-powered backup shipping rates
To ensure your backup rates are accurate and complete, the Shopify-powered backup shipping rates include Shopify supported carriers as well as country-specific backup rates.
Shopify supported carrier backup shipping rates
In shipping zones where Shopify supported carriers are available, rates are displayed as backup shipping rates at checkout. You can calculate and preview shipping rates by using the shipping calculator. You can purchase the corresponding label through Shopify.
Backup rates work for the following Shopify supported carriers by default and display the most economic service available in a given context at checkout.
| Country | Carrier |
|---|---|
| US | USPS |
| Canada | Canada Post |
| UK | Evri |
| France | Chronopost |
| Italy | Poste Italiane |
| Spain | Correos |
Learn more about how to purchase a shipping label.
Country-specific backup shipping rates
In shipping zones where shipping label rates aren't available, country-specific rates display as your backup shipping rates.
The following criteria can determine which backup rates display at your checkout:
- your fulfillment location's address and priority
- your customer's shipping address
- the default currency of your store
- the item weight
- the total order value
Country-specific backup rates are based on historical data with the goal to provide accurate rates at checkout.
If Shopify-powered backup rates don't meet your business needs, then you can set custom backup rates using order value or item weight conditions.
Customize backup shipping rates
A Shopify-powered backup rate is added to every shipping profile and shipping zone for which a calculated shipping rate is configured. You can customize the backup rates.
You can update your custom backup rates and switch back to Shopify-powered backup rates at any time.
Steps:
From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery.
In the Shipping section, click the shipping profile that you want to add backup rates to.
In the relevant shipping zone section, click … for the carrier or app calculated rate that you want to add a backup rate to.
Click Edit backup rate.
Choose which rate you want to display to customers when there's an issue displaying third-party rates:
- Use Shopify default backup rates: Selected by default. These rates will either be shipping label rates or country-specific rates, depending on the shipping zone.
- Define custom backup rates by order value: Set your conditions based on order value.
- Define custom backup rates by item weight: Set your conditions based on item weight.
Click Done.
Click Save.
Access backup rates history
To access the 30-day rolling history of your backup rate usage, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery and then click a shipping profile. Within any shipping zone, click the checkmarked shield icon next to the name of the shipping rate provider:
Backup rates history displays the number of orders and sales recovered when backup rates were accepted. Backup rates history doesn't display how often backup rates were displayed to your customers.