How to Set Up Local Delivery on Shopify (Step-by-Step 2025 Guide)
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More Shopify stores than ever are selling to local customers. Whether you’re a bakery, grocery store, florist, or neighborhood D2C brand, local delivery can help you offer faster shipping, better service, and stronger customer relationships.
In 2025, offering local delivery is no longer a nice-to-have, it is expected. Thankfully, Shopify makes it easy to set up local delivery zones, rates, and checkout options. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the full setup, from enabling local delivery to managing orders and optimizing your routes.
Why Local Delivery Matters in 2025
Online shoppers expect same-day or next-day delivery from nearby stores. At the same time, shipping costs and carrier delays continue to rise, especially during peak periods like Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM).
Local delivery solves both problems. It lets you control logistics, speed up fulfillment, and keep more profit in-house instead of paying carrier markups.
Before You Start: Prerequisites for Local Delivery
Before setting up local delivery in Shopify, make sure you have these basics covered:
- At least one physical location added under Settings → Locations
- Inventory assigned to that location
- Delivery areas identified by postal code or distance radius
- Clear delivery policies such as cutoff times, delivery days, and order minimums
Once these are in place, you’re ready to enable local delivery.
Step-by-Step: How to Set Up Local Delivery on Shopify
Follow these steps to enable and configure local delivery inside your Shopify admin:
- Go to Settings → Shipping and delivery
- Under Local delivery, click Manage next to your store location
- Check This location offers local delivery
- Set your delivery area
- Distance-based - Deliver within a certain radius (for example, 10 miles)
- Postal code-based - Add eligible postal codes manually
- Define delivery fees
- Flat fee (for example, $5)
- Free delivery above a certain order value (for example, $50)
- Add delivery instructions for customers (for example, "Leave at the doorstep")
- Save your settings
Your store now offers local delivery to eligible customers at checkout. Shopify automatically detects customer addresses and shows the option when they qualify.
How to Set Local Delivery Fees
Your pricing strategy affects conversion and margins. Here are a few proven models to try:
- Flat Fee - Simple and predictable; ideal for uniform delivery zones
- Free Over Threshold - Encourage higher order values (for example, free delivery over $60)
- Tiered by Distance - Charge slightly more for farther zones (for example, $3 within 5 miles, $6 within 10 miles)
- Subscription or VIP Delivery - Offer free local delivery to repeat customers or subscribers
Pro tip: Start with a flat fee, monitor your costs per route, and refine your pricing as you grow.
Managing Local Delivery Orders
Once local delivery is enabled, qualifying orders appear in a separate section in your Shopify admin.
- Go to Orders → Local delivery
- Mark orders as Out for delivery and later as Delivered
This basic system works fine for small stores, but once you start handling 10 to 15 deliveries per day, you’ll hit limitations, especially when it comes to route optimization and tracking.
Shopify’s Built-in Limitations
Shopify’s local delivery tools manage zones and rates, but they don’t handle logistics automation. Native features do not include:
- Route optimization
- Driver or fleet management
- Real-time tracking for customers
- Proof of delivery or signatures
If you’re growing, you’ll need a delivery app to automate these tasks and keep things efficient.
Automating Local Delivery with Super Local Delivery
As order volume grows, automation saves time and improves reliability. Apps like Super Local Delivery extend Shopify’s native features with advanced logistics management.
With Super Local Delivery, you can:
- Automatically optimize delivery routes using Google Maps
- Assign deliveries to drivers
- Provide live tracking links for customers
- Collect proof of delivery (photos, ratings, signatures)
- And much more
This helps merchants save hours each week and improve on-time delivery, especially useful during BFCM or heavy weekends.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Overlapping delivery zones
- Forgetting to assign inventory to local delivery locations
- Failing to update postal codes as you expand delivery areas
- Missing same-day delivery cutoff times
- Offering local delivery without a minimum order value
Pro Tips for 2025
- Use Addressly to validate addresses and prevent delivery errors
- Use Apploy to create a branded mobile app so local customers can reorder faster
- Generate Super QR Codes for reordering or tracking updates
- Use Inventric for managing inventory across locations
Conclusion
Setting up local delivery on Shopify is one of the simplest and most effective ways to grow your business in 2025. It helps you serve nearby customers faster, reduce shipping costs, and take control of your brand’s delivery experience.
Start with Shopify’s built-in setup, then level up using tools like Super Local Delivery for automation, Addressly for address accuracy, and Apploy for mobile reordering. Together, they form a complete local commerce stack built to scale.
Ready to start? Install Super Local Delivery and begin delivering locally with confidence.