Delivery Options at Checkout
Standard or Express, With Real Dates
Some shoppers will pay for speed, most will not. With more than one delivery option, Mercayo's checkout shows each one with its price and its dates, and lets the shopper choose.
- In every plan
- Free for 14 days
Kosha is a demo store on Mercayo. Its products, orders and customers are sample data.
In short
What It Does
Your delivery methods (for example Standard and Express) each have their own rates, days and rules, set in Settings → Shipping and Delivery. At checkout, once the shopper has typed a PIN code, the Delivery Speed part appears:
- Every method that is offered, delivers to that PIN code and has a rate for the bag's weight is listed. Until the PIN code is in, the part says "Enter your PIN code to see delivery options and dates".
- Each shows its name as you wrote it, its price ("Free", or "₹99") and its dates, worked out from your days for that method: "Arrives Tue, 20 Oct – Thu, 22 Oct", or "Arrives Wed, 21 Oct" when the fastest and slowest days fall on the same day.
- Metro PIN codes can have their own, shorter days.
- A PIN code rule can add days to a place that takes longer.
- The method you mark as the shoppers' first choice is chosen for them until they pick another.
- A method with no days set shows its price with no dates.
Choosing an option changes the bill at once: the delivery line, any free-delivery offer ("Delivery (FREESHIP)"), the GST on delivery and the total. If the chosen option does not allow cash on delivery, the COD choice says so plainly ("Cash on delivery isn't available with this delivery option").
How the Dates Are Counted
Dates count working days, Monday to Saturday, from today in India, and never fall on a Sunday.
| Part of the Date | Where It Comes From |
|---|---|
| Fastest and slowest days | The method's own days (0 to 60) |
| Metro days | The method's metro days, for metro PIN codes |
| Extra days | Any PIN code rule for that place |
The product page uses the same method days and PIN code rules, and adds your store's dispatch days for its "Get it by" line; checkout's dates leave the dispatch days out. See delivery dates by PIN code.
With only one option, or with the choice switched off, checkout uses the cheapest option for the PIN code and simply shows its price.
For your store
Why It Matters
A clear date answers the question shoppers ask most before buying: "will it come in time?". It matters most before festivals, birthdays, Rakhi and weddings, when a shopper may happily pay for a faster option if they can see it arrives before the day.
Showing real dates instead of a vague "5 to 7 days" also cuts the calls and WhatsApp messages your team gets asking where an order is.
It is your choice what you offer: an express option only for metro PIN codes, a free standard option, an express option that is prepaid only, or one option for everything. Each option's price comes from your own rates by zone and weight, so an express parcel to a far district costs what you decided it should.
And because the choice is saved on the order with its charge, the parcel goes out the way the shopper paid for, and the GST invoice shows the delivery charge they chose.
Step by step
How It Works
Create Your Delivery Methods
In Settings → Shipping and Delivery → Delivery Methods, press ADD METHOD for each speed you offer: the Name Shoppers See ("Express delivery"), a code for your reports, the Fastest and Slowest days, and Metro days if they are shorter. Leave the days empty to show no dates.
Decide Who Gets Each Method
On each method, Offer This Method turns it on or off, Shoppers' First Choice picks the one chosen for them (it must be offered), and Allow Cash on Delivery decides whether COD can go with it. Switching COD off on Express makes it prepaid only.
Give Each Method Its Rates
Add rates by zone and weight for each method, with free delivery above an amount where you want it, and PIN code rules for places that are not served or take longer. Where a method has no rate, it is not offered. See delivery charges.
Keep the Choice On
In Settings → Checkout and COD → Checkout, Choice of delivery speed is on to start with. Turn it off to always use the cheapest option that delivers to the PIN code.
Shoppers Choose at Checkout
After the PIN code, the Delivery Speed part lists the options with price and dates. The bill changes at once to the chosen option's price, and on a phone the pinned total under the header and the bar at the bottom follow it.
The Order Carries the Choice
The order records the method and its charge, and your team sees it on the order page, so the parcel goes out the way the shopper paid for. The thank-you page and the shopper's order page show the delivery charge in the order's summary.
Your shoppers
What Your Shoppers See
After typing their PIN code, shoppers see each delivery option with its name, price and dates, and choose. The total updates at once. If an option is prepaid only, the cash choice says so plainly as soon as they pick it. The order's summary on the thank-you page and the order page shows the delivery charge they chose.
Settings
Settings You Control
Each one is in your admin. A new store starts with the value shown.
Mercayo
Mercayo's Controls
Mercayo's team can fix the delivery speed choice on or off for a store, with a reason your admin shows; every change is in Mercayo's audit log, and the effective value is Mercayo's override, then your setting, then the default. Your methods, rates and days are your own: Mercayo does not change them. Every option and its price is worked out by the same server engine that prices the order, so the option a shopper picks is charged exactly as shown.
Limits today
Good to Know Before You Start
- Dates count Monday to Saturday; there is no cut-off hour (orders after 2 pm ship tomorrow) or holiday calendar.
- Dates come from your own days per method, not from a courier's live estimate.
- A method's days are the same for every product; they cannot be set per product.
- Checkout's dates do not add your dispatch days, so with dispatch days set they can read earlier than the product page's date.
Questions
About Delivery Options at Checkout
How are the dates worked out?
From today in India, adding your method's fastest and slowest days (the metro days for a metro PIN code) and any days a PIN code rule adds, counting Monday to Saturday only. A date that would fall on a Sunday moves to the Monday.
Can I offer express only in some cities?
Yes. Give the express method rates only for the zones you want, or use PIN code rules. Where it has no rate, it is not offered, and shoppers there see only the options that reach them.
Can an express option be prepaid only?
Yes. Switch off "Allow Cash on Delivery" on that method. Shoppers who choose it pay online, and the cash option says why it is not available with that delivery option.
What if I switch the choice off?
Checkout uses the cheapest option that delivers to the PIN code, and shows its price in the bill. Your first-choice method is still the one the product page uses for its delivery date.
Why does the product page show a later date than checkout?
The product page adds your dispatch days (how long you take to pack and hand over) to the method's days; checkout counts the method's days and PIN code rules only. If you set dispatch days, add them to your methods' days too if you want both dates to agree.
Does a free-delivery offer apply to express?
A free-above amount belongs to the rate it is set on, so you decide per method: free standard delivery above ₹999 with express still charged, for example. Each rate has its own free-above amount.
Related
Related Features
- Delivery ChargesSet delivery methods, group states into zones, price by weight, give free delivery above an amount, and add rules for PIN codes, then test any PIN code.
- Delivery Dates by PIN CodeShoppers type their PIN code on the product page and see the delivery dates and whether cash on delivery is available, from your own delivery rules.
- Phone-First CheckoutOne page that starts with the mobile number and the PIN code, fills in the city and state, shows clear errors and a price breakdown that adds up.
- Cash on DeliveryOffer cash on delivery with your own fee, a limit on the cash a courier collects, and the PIN codes and delivery options where it is not offered.
- Discount CodesMake codes for a percentage or an amount off, free delivery and more, with minimums, dates, limits and rules for who may use them.
More in Checkout and Payments: Phone-First Checkout · Online Payments · Bag and Bag Drawer · Gift Options · Quick Checkout for Returning Shoppers · Thank-You Page · Bot Protection
Try It on Your Own Store
Every feature is in every plan, free for 14 days.
